Worlds Collide
by Ny Batteri
Summary: Ten great warriors and adventurers, one from each nation of Tamriel, have been brought together. Learning the true nature of Nirn and Oblivion, they must work together to foil a diabolical plot formed by the Daedra to destroy the whole of Tamriel.
1. The Rescue

**Worlds Collide**

**Chapter 1 – The Rescue**

Seven figures ran in single-file down a narrow corridor which seemed to lead through the spine of the Ayleid ruin. There should have been ten of them – one sent by each nation of Tamriel – but there were only seven. Dramas Telvanni of Morrowind and Baran gro-Oran of the Wrothgarian Mountains were standing guard outside the ruin. As two of the most powerful warriors in the group, they would be more than capable of handling anyone who might be trying to follow them in. The third missing member was Raminus Polus, the incredibly gifted Imperial spellsword sent by the Arcane University, who were now arguably the most powerful organisation in Cyrodiil. He had recently been taken hostage by an unknown group of mercenaries, but the Blades had found out that he was being held in this ruin.

This left the remaining seven to rescue Raminus from whoever was holding him captive. Seven of the best warriors and adventurers in Tamriel.

At the head of the group was Storm of Falkreath, the Nord sent from Skyrim. He was acting as the group's scout. Unlike most Nordic warriors, he favoured light armour and manoeuvrability over brute force. If somebody swung a sword, mace or axe at him he would duck to the side to avoid it and plunge his sword into his enemy's side. Very few people left an encounter with Storm of Falkreath alive.

Behind him was Agam-Na, a shy, paranoid but good-natured Argonian scholar and mage sent from Black Marsh. He had been brought on this mission for two reasons – his knowledge and the speed he could run at. He was rudimentarily skilled in the use of blunt weapons and destruction magic, but he generally relied on the rest of the group to protect him from danger. He provided brains, not brawn.

Next in line was Arzel, sent from Hammerfell. The Redguard was an absolute powerhouse, kitted out in Dwarven armour, which he had used his blacksmithing skills to make even tougher, and wielding a Claymore, also Dwarven.

Behind Arzel were Marina of Summerset Isle and Ri'Azba of Elsweyr. Marina was an extraordinarily gifted mage, and sent by her home nation because of her remarkable ability to simply create new spells on the spot, as and when the situation arose. The oldest and most experienced member of the group, she had been voted their leader.

Ri'Azba, the Khajiit, stuck close to Marina at all times. She was like a mother to him. He had been freed from slavery by her and lived with her since that day. There were three reasons why the kings of Elsweyr had chosen to send him – his agility, his unmatched archery skill and his fierce loyalty.

Behind them was the Breton sent from High Rock, Ciara Erlasia. Unusually for a Breton she turned to physical weapons rather than magic, never seen without her bow and dagger. She was, however, extremely skilled in the art of alchemy and always carried around a small amount of carefully-selected ingredients to tailor-make potions on the spot when they were needed.

At the back of the group was Meridor of Valenwood. The Wood Elf was small and nor particularly well-built but could still pack a punch with the axe which never left his side.

None of the group yet knew what their mission was, only that it was one of enormous importance for the safety of Tamriel. Chancellor Ocato had decided that all ten members of the group should be present at the briefing, which meant Raminus had to be rescued. It was also a subtle way for Ocato to make sure the group could handle themselves.

"We're coming up to a large open area" Storm whispered, halting the group. "I can see movement in there"

Marina stepped up next to him and peered down the corridor. At the end of it, a short flight of steps led up to a doorway, leading into a large atrium. The orange glow of a fire illuminated the atrium. Footsteps could be heard on the stone floor, and a lone figure was pacing backwards and forwards in front of the doorway.

"Take him down" Marina whispered. "If he sees us, we attack. Storm, Arzel, Meridor, you go first. Ciara, Ri'Azba, cover them from here"

Ri'Azba crept forwards, an arrow placed in his bow, and slowly began to draw the string back. As the figure paced past the doorway, Ri'Azba released the arrow. His aim was immaculate. The figure fell to the ground dead, the arrow jutting gruesomely from his temple, before he'd had time to scream.

"_What was that?" _a voice said from somewhere in the hall.

"_It's Garildor! He's dead!" _another voice said.

"OK, attack!" Marina whispered loudly. "Ri'Azba, Ciara, cover them!"

The Khajiit and Breton ran out into the hall, their bows raised. They positioned themselves at either side of the doorway and began firing across the hall. Storm, Arzel and Meridor ran out behind them.

There were a lot of enemies in the room. Ten at least, all wearing armour and carrying an assortment of weapons.

Ciara fired arrow after arrow across the hall into whoever the enemies were. This would be tough – they were all completely bedecked in heavy armour, against which arrows were more or less useless unless she could score a headshot. The only purpose of her and Ri'Azba's fire was to keep the enemies at bay.

"Marina! They're armoured! We need some help!"

The Altmer ran up into the hall. Storm, Arzel and Meridor were all charging forwards towards the enemies. They counteracted the charge, running at them brandishing an assortment of swords and axes. Three other men stood at the far side of the hall with bows, returning Ciara and Ri'Azba's volley of fire.

"Move forwards" Ri'Azba called to Ciara. "We must kill the archers!"

Ciara nodded and turned to Agam-Na, still in the corridor.

"Come on! We're outnumbered, you're going to have to fight!" she called down to him. "We'll keep an eye on you!"

Agam-Na drew his mace and ran into the hall, making sure to stay close to Marina.

Ciara and Ri'Azba began running along the sides of the hall in perfect synchronisation, mirror images of each other. Suddenly Ciara heard the familiar sound of a bow's drawstring being released, but it was coming from somewhere close. She heard an arrow slam into the ground next to her, having passed so close to her that she had felt it whip through her hair. She ducked and looked around for the source of the arrow.

There was a high balcony running along one side of the room with two figures on it, both carrying bows.

"Archers on the balcony!" Ciara shouted.

"Leave it to me!" Marina called back. A great bolt of lightning flashed across the hall from Marina and slammed into one of the archers, sending him flying backwards into the wall.

Storm, Arzel and Meridor were completely surrounded by the enemy. The three of them stood in an outward-facing circle, fighting hard and outnumbered 2-to-1. Storm was struggling to hold off two swordsmen, when one of them suddenly fell to the ground, hit from behind by a large impact. It was Agam-Na with his mace. Storm used the distraction to plunge his sword into the other man he was fighting, whilst Agam-Na examined the body of the man he had just killed – in particular his jet-black armour.

"What is it?" Storm asked. "Daedric? Ebony?"

"No, it's much lower quality" Agam-Na said. "The only other black armour ever seen in Tamriel is worn by the Blackwood Company"

The words 'Blackwood Company' resonated through Storm's mind. They were a band of mercenaries who were on the verge of being pure evil. They were known for carrying out contracts that nobody else would do. Storm remembered a member of the Fighters' Guild infiltrating them to find out why. The Fighters' Guild man was forced to drink the sap of the Hist tree, a sacred species of tree which grows in Black Marsh. The next thing he knew, he was defending a small village against a goblin invasion. When his superiors at the Fighters' Guild sent him to the village to clear up, he found the entire population of the village dead. The Hist sap had made them hallucinate and think the villagers were goblins. The Fighters' Guild member killed himself on the spot. After that day the Blackwood Company became notorious – one only used them if nobody else would accept the contract.

-----------

Outside, Dramas and Baran stood at the door to the ruin eyeing the horizon, constantly watching for anything that might be a threat. Baran was easily the most physically daunting member of the group – with his Orcish warhammer and armour he was also the most heavily armed and armoured. Dramas was like all Dunmer warriors – skilled in swordsmanship, archery and Destruction magic, and in the balanced integration of all three.

"Come on then, Dramas" Baran said suddenly. "One of each race of Tamriel. Why?"

"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea" Dramas replied, still eyeing the horizon.

"You know, I read a book once…"

"Really?" Dramas smirked. "I didn't know you Orcs had it in you!"

"Shut up, Dunmer" Baran snapped back. "It was an account of a worshipper of Boethia, the Daedric Prince. The worshipper was seeking Goldbrand, a powerful sword thought to be in the possession of Boethia. He was right, but to retrieve the sword he had to take part in a contest. Ten combatants, one from each race. The last one standing won the sword"

"You think we're here for some sort of gladiatorial competition?" Dramas said. "Then some races have a disadvantage. The Argonian is not a warrior, he's a scholar. And why are they risking our lives to rescue Raminus? No, it doesn't add up…"

"Well, the sooner they actually find Raminus the sooner we can find out why we're here…"

"Movement" Dramas said suddenly, drawing his bow. "To the North. You see it?"

Baran strained his eyes and nodded. He could see figures moving through the swampy forests of Blackwood towards them.

"Hold your fire" Baran said. "They might just be explorers"

One of the figures stopped and turned. He looked straight at Dramas.

"They've seen us" he said. "At arms!"

Suddenly, the figures charged. Ten of them at least, all wearing black armour, all burst out of the bushes and charged towards the entrance of the ruin.

"Sound the alarm!" Baran said. "We can't handle them on our own!"

'The alarm' was a spell Marina had made just before they had entered the ruin, and written on a scroll so Dramas could cast it. The spell would produce a loud, shrill sound, which could only be heard by members of the group. The instructions were simple – if Dramas needed backup, he would sound the alarm. If he heard the alarm, it meant Marina had cast it and they were to abandon their posts and enter the ruin to help.

Dramas unwrapped the scroll Marina had given to him. It was covered in Daedric script, but as a Morrowind native Dramas could translate it with ease. He quickly read out the script to himself, and as soon as he had finished a high-pitched squealing sound filled the air, seeming to come from all around. After a few seconds, it stopped.

"Best of luck to you, Baran" Dramas said, drawing his sword. The two warriors stepped forwards to brave the enemy charge.

---------------

"It's the alarm!" Marina cried. The battle in the hall was slowly swinging in their favour. Ciara and Ri'Azba had taken care of all but one of the archers, and Storm, Arzel and Meridor were now fighting three against two. Marina unleashed a bolt of magical energy at one of the Blackwood Company men – as it hit, the man's armour simply disintegrated, literally turning to dust. Meridor reacted at once and slammed his axe into the man's naked chest. The other Blackwood Company man raised his arms in surrender as a well-placed arrow from Ciara felled the archer.

"I surrender!" the man said. Arzel walked over to him, roughly pulled his helm off and held his sword to his throat.

"Drop your weapon" Arzel ordered. The man obliged.

"I'll deal with this" Marina said. "You're needed outside. Storm, Meridor, go with him"

"Only one marksman?" Arzel asked. "With respect, Marina, should Ciara not go as well?"

"You're right" Marina replied. "You should stay with us. Ciara, go with the other two"

Storm gave a subtle nod and smile towards Arzel. Arzel was one of the few people who knew what Storm and Ciara really wanted – to be near each other at all times.

"OK. Who are you working for?" Arzel said to the Blackwood Company man. "Tell me the truth and this will be a lot less painful for you"

"I do not know, and that is the truth" the man said. He was Imperial, well-spoken. "We were told by our commander to guard the prisoner, and nothing more"

"Where is the prisoner?" Arzel demanded.

"May the Gods have mercy upon me" the man said to himself. He looked up to face Arzel. "Keep following this corridor. You'll come to a door. It's probably locked, but we were told to make sure nobody reached that door. He must be behind it"

"Thank you" Arzel said. "You are free to go, but know this. If you follow us, we will kill you. If you go outside, the rest of our group will kill you. Stay here until we are all gone and you might live"

Agam-Na watched the scene unfold. He had not met the Redguard before today, but he was glad to see that they both shared the same philosophy. Men who were simply earning a living, like this mercenary, should not be killed unless it is necessary.

---------------

"OK, listen, everybody" Storm said as himself, Meridor and Ciara ran along the corridor back towards the entrance to the ruin. "We have one aim – to make sure the exit is clear for when the others return with Raminus. If we can't beat whoever's out there, the least we can do is hold them off"

------------------

Ri'Azba watched in fascination as Marina and Agam-Na puzzled with the ornate Ayleid door blocking their way. The door was forged from what looked like silver, with an effigy of a tree inlaid into it in a beautiful pale-blue crystal. And it simply would not open.

"We should have kept Meridor" Marina said. "He could have had this door open in an instant"

"If there's a lock it will yield to magic as well as a lockpick, surely" Agam-Na said.

"There's some sort of magicka drain on the door" Marina replied. "It's sapping the magnitude of any spell I cast at it, making it too weak to break the lock"

"Try dispelling the door, then" Agam-Na suggested. "Just long enough to cast another lock-breaker on it"

"Where would I be without you, Agam-Na?" Marina sighed as she placed her hands on the door. A pale green glow enveloped the door.

"I've silenced it, it should have the same effect"

Ri'Azba was transfixed by what the two mages were doing. And he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. He did understand one thing – the word 'Varlasel' written above the door way. It literally meant 'Hall of stars' and was normally the innermost chamber in ruins like these. He had learnt that from Agam-Na.

--------------

Storm, Meridor and Ciara burst out of the ruin to a scene of absolute chaos. Dramas and Baran were both pinned down in the small porch-like structure which covered the door, trying to hold off at least ten Blackwood Company men. Behind them, two Imperial Foresters who had happened across the scene were trying vainly to help.

"Dramas! Ciara! Get up on the roof!" Storm ordered. "Meridor, Baran, give them some cover!"

With that, Storm, Meridor and Baran burst out of the porch and collided with the Blackwood Company men, forcing them backwards. As soon as they had done so, Ciara jumped up, got a handhold on the roof of the porch and hauled herself up onto the roof, then drew her bow and began firing into the Blackwood Company men. Dramas tried to do the same, but lacked the upper body strength to haul his heavy suit of armour onto the roof. He let himself fall to the ground, drew his sword and dived into the fray.

"Who are they?" he called to Storm.

"Blackwood Company! We don't know who they're working for!" Storm replied as he sickeningly plunged his sword into a Blackwood Company soldier's eye.

---------------

The door sprung open, and Arzel and Ri'Azba ran inside. The room was empty.

"I don't think they were expecting such a big rescue party" Arzel said. "Most of their men must have been in that last room"

"Come on, let's find Raminus" Marina said.

Agam-Na looked around the small room they were in. Two corridors led off from it.

"I imagine this is standard Ayleid architecture" he said. "One of these will lead to a main hall, the other will lead to a balcony overlooking it"

"Let's split up" Marina suggested. "Ri'Azba, come with me. Agam-Na, you're with Arzel"

"Come on then, Professor" Arzel said. "Let's hope we pick the safe route"

Arzel chose the left-hand corridor and ran down it, Agam-Na following him. Marina and Ri'Azba ran down the other corridor.

They both arrived at their destinations at the same time. Marina and Ri'Azba emerged, like Agam-Na predicted, on a small balcony overlooking a large hall, which Arzel and Agam-Na appeared in. The room was empty, apart from one person – Raminus Polus, tied to a chair in the centre of the room. Arzel ran over to him and began carefully cutting the ropes with his sword, whilst Marina and Ri'Azba retraced their steps, emerging shortly in the hall.

"Did they not leave anyone to guard you?" Arzel asked as he cut the final bond. Raminus shook his head.

"They all left through the secret exit" Raminus said. "I overheard them talking. They thought they could ambush you by going outside then back in through the main entrance. Where are the others?"

"Outside, fighting off the ambush" Marina said. "Where is this secret exit? We need to get outside and help them"

"At the back of this hall" Raminus said. "I presume it emerges somewhere near the main entrance"

Agam-Na was deep in his own thoughts. He was thinking about the balcony the Blackwood Company archers had attacked them from. They had passed no other doorways that would have led to that balcony, so the passage to the secret exit must have led to it…

"Marina, sound the alarm" he said suddenly. "I've got an idea"

---------------

For the second time that day, Dramas and Baran heard a shrill ringing in their ears. By the looks on their faces, the other three had also seen it.

"It's the alarm!" Meridor exclaimed. "They need our help!"

"Fall back inside!" Storm ordered. "Dramas, Ciara, give us some cover!"

Dramas and Ciara let loose a stunning volley of arrows and fireballs directed towards the Blackwood Company soldiers, eventually ducking down into the porch themselves and following the other three into the ruin, the Blackwood Company hot on their heels.

They ran into the large hall where the earlier battle had taken place. Another doorway lay opposite them, leading to a descending staircase.

"Straight ahead!" Storm called out to the group. They sprinted across the hallway towards the next door, Ciara and Dramas still trying to hold off the Blackwood Company soldiers.

The mercenaries followed them into the hallway… and all of a sudden, a colossal fireball slammed into the ground in the middle of their group, killing two of the six and knocking them all off their feet. Just as one regained his footing, a bolt of lightning hit him, causing him to convulse wildly before he dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Storm looked around, both confused and amazed. What he saw was Ri'Azba, Marina and Raminus standing on the balcony they had been attacked from earlier, hurling everything they had at the Blackwood Company soldiers.

_Using their own tactics against them_, Storm thought to himself. _That had to be one of Agam-Na's ideas._

The three remaining Blackwood Company men did not stand a chance. Their armour could block swords, maces and arrows but not magic, and they were picked off one-by-one by Dramas, Marina and Raminus.

-------------------

The walk back to the Imperial City was long, and the cold winter's night did not make it any easier. But the group where in high spirits – they had completed their mission and were about to find out why they had all been gathered here.

Arzel walked up to Raminus. "So, how did you manage to get captured then?"

"You tell me" Raminus replied. "The last thing I remember was walking through Green Emperor Way, on the way to the magic shops in the Market District because I needed some soul gems. Next thing I know I'm in that ruin"

"They must have knocked you out cold and dragged you from the city" Arzel said. "But how could the guards not have noticed?"

"They could have used an invisibility spell, they could have bribed the guards..."

"Oh, you need this" Arzel said, handing an amulet to Raminus. It was forged from the same green volcanic glass that the extremely rare weapons and armour were made from, and had a diamond carved into the shape of a ten-pointed star in its centre.

"The rest of us are all wearing one. I had to give this one to you. Ocato's orders"

"What are they for?"

"Well, tomorrow we're going to find out"


	2. A Great Gathering

**Chapter 2 – A Great Gathering**

"Citizens of Tamriel" Chancellor Ocato said loudly, getting the attention of everybody seated around the large table. In addition to the ten warriors, Ocato and Jauffre, Grandmaster of the Blades, were present.

"You are here because you have been sent by your homelands. Each of you is here because you excel in your craft, whether it be fighting, magic, getting into places nobody else can or simply your unprecedented knowledge" He nodded to Agam-Na.

"First I must congratulate you on your rescuing of Raminus. I hear you were outnumbered 2 to 1, yet you still escaped with not even an injury, let alone a fatality. Now that you are all present, I can tell you why you have been gathered here"

"I will begin by telling you something you may not know about Nirn. It is, or was, a plane of Oblivion, the realm of the Daedra"

A few surprised whispers went around the table.

"Long ago, before the Mythic Age, the Daedric Lord Lorkhan ruled over what is now Nirn. However, aided by the Nine Divines, the people he ruled over revolted against him, banished him from Nirn and turned the world into what it is today. For thousands of years, for three ages, Nirn has remained in control of the Divines. But now things are changing. Dramas, what major event has occurred in Morrowind recently?"

"The Heart of Lorkhan was destroyed" Dramas replied.

"Yes. The Heart was built by worshippers to Lorkhan to try and resurrect the Daedric Prince and allow him to reclaim Nirn for himself. But the followers' understanding of the dark arts was poor at best. Lorkhan could not materialise in Morrowind because, in the form of the Heart, he was already present in Morrowind. But now the Heart has been destroyed…"

Ocato did not need to finish the sentence. The implications were clear. Lorkhan was now a free Daedra again, no longer bound in a mechanical heart buried deep beneath Vvardenfell.

"A series of events has led to a serious threat becoming present. Now. Can anybody tell me about Jyggalag?"

"The Daedric Prince of Order" Agam-Na said, standing up. "Often forgotten about, like Lorkhan. He became too powerful for his own good, and was cursed to live as Sheogorath, Prince of Madness. The very thing he fought to oppose"

"Another event recently occurred which you are most likely unaware of. A follower of Sheogorath somehow entered the Shivering Isles, Sheogorath's Plane of Oblivion, and replaced the Prince of Madness as the ruler of the Isles, essentially becoming Sheogorath. I won't go into minute details but this essentially lifted the curse on Jyggalag, allowing him to live as himself once again.

"As the Prince of Order, Jyggalag is only too happy to see Nirn fall into the hands of the Daedra again. Think about it – Nirn being in the hands of the Nine, not the Daedra, represents a disorder. He wants to reclain Nirn as a Daedric realm to restore order. And many of the other Daedra are more than happy to help him"

"Hang on" Marina said suddenly. "How do you actually know all of this?"

"We have somebody on the inside, so to speak. Jauffre?"

"A member of our organisation works undercover as a worshipper to the Daedra Azura"

"Wait a minute!" Meridor exclaimed. "The Blades secretly worship Daedra just to get information?"

"That's right" Jauffre said. "Although we only worship Azura. She is not evil in any way and often disdainful of the actions of the other Daedra. She is more than happy to help us"

"Amazing" Meridor said. "The Blades know of a secret plot between the Daedric Lords…"

"The Blades know what you had for breakfast yesterday" Arzel joked. "Meridor's breakfast… something that must be known for the good of the Empire!"

"Thank you, Arzel!" Ocato snapped. "This is why you are here. The Daedric Lords are planning on invading Nirn. If this invasion begins, we will not be able to stop it. Last time it was just Mehrunes Dagon who invaded. This time it will be a force ten times more powerful than Dagon. All we can do is prevent the invasion happening"

"Wait a minute" Storm said. "When Martin Septim defeated Mehrunes Dagon, were the portals to Oblivion not closed forever?"

"Only those to Mehrunes Dagon's realm" Ocato said. "Experts in the Daedra have recently discovered that the term 'Oblivion' does not refer to a single place. Each Daedric Prince has their own realm of Oblivion, which all exist completely separately of each other. Think about it, if the portals were closed forever then why can conjurers still summon Daedric creatures and weapons?"

"Wait" Meridor said, standing up. "Just wait. How in the name of the Nine do you expect us to stop an invasion by however many of the Daedric Lords are in on this little plot?"

"This, I do not know" Ocato sighed. "I hoped that by bringing so many great minds together we could arrive at a solution"

Everybody sat in silence for a long time, before Agam-Na stood up. He had said very little since the discussion about the Heart of Lorkhan.

"I… have an idea" he said nervously. Everybody turned to look at him. "I don't know whether it will work or not. Chancellor, you said that Lorkhan could not materialise in Tamriel because the Heart was already an embodiment of him"

"That's correct" Ocato said.

"Think how many legendary artifacts have the name of a Daedra associated with them. Mehrunes' Razor. The Mace of Molag Bal. The Masque of Clavicus Vile. The Ring of Namira. The Sanguine Rose. The Eye of Nocturnal…"

"You're right!" Marina exclaimed. "Don't you see what he means? If we can gather artifacts belonging to the Daedra who plan to invade Nirn, we can prevent them from invading!"

Everyone began to talk noisily and applaud the Argonian scholar. Agam-Na waited for the applause to die down.

"It may not be that simple though" he said. "The artifacts I mentioned have the spirit of their owner infused in them. But not all the Daedra have an associated artifact like this. Take Mephala, for instance, or Peryite. They will doubtlessly be part of this plot. It is widely known that Peryite is in possession of Spell Breaker, but it does not contain his spirit like something like the Mace of Molag Bal does. It is simply an ancient shield, an excellent piece of Dwemer craftsmanship, that he happens to own"

"There is something which occurred a while back which may interest you, Agam-Na" Ocato said. Agam-Na looked inquisitively at him. "What do you know of Oghma Infinum?"

"It is a magical book containing the spirit of Hermaeus Mora" Agam-Na said. "He is allegedly the most knowledgeable being in existence, and by reading Oghma Infinum some of his knowledge is, according to popular myth, passed on to the reader"

"That's right" Ocato said. "And recently an adventurer decided he wanted this book. To do this he had to earn Hermaeus Mora's favour, but he could not do this without first earning the favour of every other Daedric Lord who has a shrine in Tamriel. Typically, if somebody pleases a Daedra, they are rewarded by being granted an artifact by the Daedra"

"So you're saying somebody was in possession of every single Daedric artifact at one stage?"

Ocato nodded. "Sadly, his narrow-minded foolishness got the better of him. He carelessly discarded the artifacts, selling them to store-owners or simply discarding them in the wild. One, he did keep. The Mace of Molag Bal. The adventurer was an expert with blunt weapons, and decided to keep the Mace as his own weapon"

"Who was this adventurer?" Agam-Na asked.

"His name was Bendu Olo, a distant descendant of the Colovian king of the same name. He is dead now. Taken by the passage of time. He resides buried in the Olo ancestral tomb, deep beneath the Imperial Palace, and accessible only from there. Which is where your glass amulets come in. Only twelve of these exist, and the twelve owners of them are in this room.

"Few people know of the impending crisis. However, all the guilds and guard units in Cyrodiil have been told to assist the wearers of these amulets in any way they can. Therefore, you should have no problems accessing restricted areas"

------------

_Anvil docks, midnight, ten years earlier_

The two Anvil guards paced nervously up and down the docks. They knew they were waiting to intercept a ship trying to smuggle slaves into Cyrodiil, but the ship did not seem in a hurry to arrive. Marina, the High Elf who had given them the tip-off, was much calmer, sitting on the harbour wall buried in her own thoughts. She had been working undercover for the Battlemage division of the Summerset Isle Guild of Mages when she saw the ship leave the Isle, and by virtue of magic she had managed to get to Anvil long before it.

Before long, two ships came into view in the moonlight, bound for the docks.

"There's two of them…" Marina said. "Remember, pretend this is a routine check. If we get in trouble, that's why the other guards are here"

Marina cast a spell, creating a small flash of light which would not be visible as far out as the ships were. By Anvil castle, from a small wooden dinghy, the guards from Chorrol who had been summoned to aid the mission lit a torch then quickly extinguished it, to show that they had received Marina's signal.

The two slave ships offered very little resistance – two poorly-skilled and -equipped soldiers on each, who fell quickly to the guards.

"Release any slaves you find" Marina said. "Tell them to wait until morning, then we shall take them to the castle to start building their lives"

Several Argonian and Khajiit prisoners were on-board the ships. Most had clearly been in slavery all their lives and could not even speak the Common Language. One Khajiit, however, could. As Marina cast a lock-breaking spell on the Khajiit's wrist irons, he looked at her and smiled warmly. She could tell he was struggling to speak the same language as her.

"Ri'Azba thank you" he said to her.

Ri'Azba quickly attached to Marina, and helped her free the rest of the slaves, fashioning a lockpick out of an old piece of scrap metal he found on the floor in the ship. When the guards tried to find a place for all the freed slaves to sleep, Ri'Azba found himself without a bed. Marina offered the Khajiit her bed that she had rented in a local inn, whilst she slept on the floor, but the pair ended up spending all night talking with one another. Ri'Azba was quickly learning the Common Language.

He told Marina of how he had spent almost his whole life in slavery, having been kidnapped in Elsweyr and taken into slavery in Morrowind, before being taken to Summerset Isle and eventually to Cyrodiil. In Morrowind, another Khajiit prisoner had taught him the art of archery, even though neither of them had a bow. For the next several years of his life, Ri'Azba had spent his time throwing loose objects around his cell. The slavekeepers simply thought this to be a protest, or a cry for attention, but Ri'Azba was in fact teaching himself the secrets of ballistics.

The next day, something incredible happened. Marina took Ri'Azba to the archery range behind the Anvil Guild of Fighters and handed him a bow. Ri'Azba studied the shape of the arrow, gauged its weight then loaded it into the bow. The first time he had ever used a bow, he hit the centre of the target from 100 yards.

Marina introduced Ri'Azba to her friend, Agam-Na, and Argonian scholar, and since then the three of them became inseparable. Marina or Agam-Na would often need to visit ancient ruins for research and Ri'Azba was more than happy to accompany them.

------------

_The Elder Council Chambers, the present day_

Marina stood up and took place next to Chancellor Ocato.

"OK, everybody, there are two things we must do now" she said authorititavely. "We must recover the Mace of Molag Bal, and we must find which Daedra plan to invade Nirn. There is only one being who knows this, and that is Azura"

"In that case we must travel to her shrine and summon her" Dramas said.

"No, we should not do that!" Agam-Na said suddenly. "Summoning a Daedra will open a portal from the realms of the Daedra to Nirn. If Daedric Lords are trying to reach Nirn, summoning Azura will only make their task easier"

"So you are suggesting…" Dramas paused. "That we travel to Azura's Plane of Oblivion?"

"It is the only way" Agam-Na replied. "And don't worry, Moonshadow is a very safe place. It is a beautiful garden, filled with rivers and waterfalls of the purest water you will ever find. Azura lives in a magnificent palace at the heart of a city made from silver"

"Sounds delightful, but how are we supposed to get there?" Arzel asked.

"If Azura knows we seek passage to Moonshadow, and if she deems our cause worthy, she will transport us there" Agam-Na said. "I imagine we merely have to ask her nicely. At dusk or dawn, of course"

"And you will not be going, Arzel" Marina said. "For this task I believe we should split in two. Agam-Na, you can lead the search for the Mace"

"Why me?" Agam-Na asked.

"Any structures built underneath White Gold Tower must be Ayleid in origin. And you know more about the Ayleids than I do. I have absolute faith that you will succeed. Arzel, Storm, Ciara and Baran will go with you to look after you. Ri'Azba, Meridor, Dramas, Raminus, that leaves you four to come with me"

"Are you sure you need this much protection in Moonshadow?" Meridor asked. "Surely the warriors in our number would be better going with Agam-Na?"

"I would feel a lot safer if I had you four with me" Marina replied. "What we are doing is extremely dangerous. We are interfering with the affairs of Daedra. At the very least, we will upset their followers. We need means of protecting ourselves"

With that, the ten formed into two groups of five and left the Council Chambers.


	3. The Quest Begins

**Chapter 3 – The Quest Begins**

As Agam-Na stepped up to the doors of the Imperial Palace, a guard approached him. Agam-Na could tell by the look in his eyes that he could not wait to order him to leave the premises immediately. After a thief had broken into White Gold Tower, gaining access through the public areas of the Palace, it was no longer open to the public.

As the guard approached Agam-Na, the Argonian pulled down the front of his robe, revealing the glass amulet underneath. The other four did the same. The guard sighed to himself and moved out of the way.

"We are looking for the Olo tomb" Agam-Na said to the guard.

"Follow me, then" the guard said. "The entrance is down in the basement"

The guard turned the ancient key in the lock of a small wooden door. The lock sprung open, but the guard did not open immediately.

"I should warn you before you go down there" the guard said. "There is something down there. Maybe more than one thing. We keep hearing sounds from down there, and we sent two guards down to investigate it. They never returned"

"It's a good job we're here, then, isn't it?" Baran said. Before they had set off, Agam-Na had suspected there might be some sort of supernatural presence in the tomb, so he ordered Baran, Ciara, Arzel and Storm to equip themselves with either silver or magical weapons. Baran had grudgingly replaced his Orcish warhammer with one made from silver, Storm and Ciara were using the same silver sword and bow respectively that they always carried and Arzel had used the power of his glass amulet to magically enchant his sword at the Arcane University.

The door opened to a narrow, descending staircase, cut into the pale Elven stone that the palace was built from. The walls were worn and crumbling and the stairs were covered in dust and fragments of loose stone.

"You wouldn't think this was a royal tomb, would you?" Storm remarked as he began to descend the staircase. Agam-Na followed him, followed by Arzel, Ciara and finally Baran.

Before long the stairwell emerged in a wide corridor, lit by glowing blue crystals recessed into the walls. Storm halted the group before he entered the room. He could hear something – a disembodied, breathing sound.

"Ghosts" he whispered. "Stay on guard, everyone"

The group walked slowly out into the corridor, which appeared to be empty. Agam-Na hesitated, then ordered Storm to stop. For an Ayleid structure containing a tomb, the corridor was _too_ empty. He examined the ground in front of Storm and saw there was a small gap between two sections of the floor. It was so narrow that anyone other than the keen-eyed Argonian scholar would have failed to spot it. Agam-Na looked up at the ceiling to see a large cavity above him, covered in spikes protruding down from the ceiling.

"It's a trap" he said. "A standard Ayleid raising floor. If you stand on that section of floor it will raise upwards and impale you on the spikes"

"How do we get past it?" Storm asked.

"There must be a way…" Agam-Na said. "There is always a way of bypassing Ayleid traps" He began to examine the floor around the raising section. There was normally a narrow walkway at either side of the raising section in a trap like this, but he could not see one. How were they supposed to get around it?

"Hey, Professor!" Arzel called. Agam-Na turned round to see the Redguard pointing to the ceiling. There was what appeared to be a small button recessed into the ceiling, with a glowing blue crystal at it's centre. Ciara nocked an arrow in her bow and aimed at the button.

"It's worth a try" Agam-Na said. Ciara fired the arrow, which slammed into the button, pierced straight through the crystal and pinned it to the ceiling. Hidden mechanisms began to move and a small section of the wall behind them dropped away to reveal a corridor behind them, leading down further underground. Storm led the group into the opening.

The corridor emerged in a room filled with pillars, and with several alcoves carved into the walls, a coffin lying in each one. An eerie mist hung at floor-level in the room.

"Watch for ghosts" Storm said. No sooner had he stepped into the room when two ghosts materialised in front of him, and another in a corner of the room. He burst out into the room, followed by Ciara, Baran and Arzel. Agam-Na drew his mace and retreated down the corridor.

Storm and Arzel charged towards the two ghosts in front of them, who appeared to draw ghostly swords. One unleashed a glowing ball of pale-blue energy which slammed into Storm's chest – for a few seconds, Storm felt like his entire body was freezing solid. He mustered his strength and lunged forwards, plunging his sword into the ghost. The ghost seemed to just evaporate in front of him, leaving the sword it was carrying lying on the ground. Arzel parried with the other ghost, blocking swordstrokes, before Storm strode over and slay the ghost.

"These swords are Imperial craftsmanship!" Arzel said. "Bendu Olo I's personal guard must be buried here!"

"There's more to come" Storm said. "Brace yourself"

As Ciara and Baran fought with two more ghosts, four more materialised from coffins at the far side of the room!

"Fall back!" Arzel shouted. Himself and Storm began retreating back to where Ciara and Baran were. As Ciara hit the ghost her and Baran were fighting with an arrow, it too simply vanished into thin air. Immediately, Ciara nocked another arrow and skilfully fired it down the gap between Arzel and Storm, killing another ghost.

"Four on four!" Baran shouted. "Let's finish this!"

With all his might, Baran slammed his warhammer down on the ghost in front of him. Strangely, he felt the hammer hit something solid, only for it to disappear an instant later. When he opened his eyes, the ghost was gone. He turned round just in time to see Arzel get hit directly in the head with a ball of arcane frost. He fell to the ground screaming in pain.

"Arzel's been hit!" Baran yelled. Agam-Na ran from the corridor and dragged Arzel to safety, as Baran ran around the side of the room to try and get behind the other three ghosts. As he ran, he heard what sounded like an arrow hitting flesh. He turned, and saw another ghost evaporate into thin air and one of Ciara's silver arrows falling to the ground next to it. Thinking quickly, he lunged at another ghost and slammed his warhammer down on the ghost's head. Storm had no problem deflecting the swordstrikes of the final ghost before plunging his sword into it.

Ciara ran over to where Arzel was lying on the ground. "Is he alright?"

"He needs to rest for a while" Agam-Na said. "Somebody needs to stay with him"

"I'll stay" Baran said. The other three had forgotten that as well as being an expert warrior, Baran gro-Oran was also an adept healer.

"Alright then, you should be safe down here. Do you have the scroll for the alarm?"

Baran shook his head. "Dramas had it when we rescued Raminus"

Agam-Na handed a scroll to Baran. "Sound it if you need help"

_The Shrine to Azura, near Bruma, that evening_

Weary from the climb up the mountain to Azura's shrine, Meridor, Dramas and Marina sat down. Ri'Azba was not fatigued at all, and stood alert, keeping watch over the surrounding hills. Raminus stood in front of the statue of Azura in awe.

"It's dusk" he said. "We should be able to contact Azura".

Raminus stepped forwards and sprinkled a handful of glow dust on the statue, the strange powder casting a pale glow over the stone it landed on.

"Azura" Raminus called into the twilight. "I am sure you will be aware of our cause. I cannot elaborate more as I do not know which of your kinsmen might be listening. My friends and I seek your counsel, and passage to Moonshadow!"

There was a long pause. Raminus turned to look at the rest of the group. Had Azura heard him?

Suddenly, a blinding flash of light erupted out of the ground close to where Raminus was standing. When it subsided, an archway fashioned from silver materialised seemingly out of the ground, and a blue light radiated from the centre of the archway. "I'll go first" Marina said, standing up. Cautiously, she stepped into the archway.

For a few seconds, Marina saw nothing but black. She felt as if she wasn't there, as though her mind had detached from her body. But then, as she closed her eyes and opened them again, she found herself in what must have been Moonshadow.

She was standing on thick, lush grass, surrounded by gently undulating hills, peppered with exotic-looking trees. Around a mile away, an enormous waterfall cascaded dramatically down a cliff face, and behind it, towering mountains reached up to the cloudless blue sky. In the other direction was a great forest where trees of all kinds were growing, from the common trees found in central Tamriel to the exotic mushroom-like trees native to Morrowind. But the most magnificent sight of all lay beyond the forest – an enormous city, looking like it had been made from silver, built on a hill. At the peak of this hill, the highest point of the city, was a vast, ornate palace. Towering walls surrounded the dome-shaped keep, interspersed every 50 yards with spiralling towers that raised up to a spire. It was exactly as Agam-Na had described it.

"Beautiful…" Dramas mused as he appeared next to Marina and took in the breathtaking view. Ri'Azba and Raminus appeared shortly later, followed finally by Meridor.

"We should make for the palace" Marina said, as she began walking towards the enormous silver city. She guessed the distance to be around 5 miles.

"Wait!" Ri'Azba said. "Somebody is coming!" He pointed towards the river which led to the waterfall. Marina had failed to notice that a small boat had docked at a jetty built into the riverbank. A woman disembarked the ship, and began walking towards the group. She had beautiful, fair features and long golden hair, and was dressed in a white robe which seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. It could only be Azura.

"My Lady" Raminus said, bowing to the goddess. The other four did the same.

"I am glad you made it here safely" Azura said. The first thing that struck the group was how _normal_ her voice sounded – she could almost have been a normal human. "Please, sit down"

Azura sat down on the grass, and the group followed suit. Two men stood behind Azura, wearing ornate silver armour and carrying swords that seemed to be made from a blue volcanic glass. Azura spotted Meridor looking at the guards.

"My personal guard" she explained. "Pay them no heed. You were right to come here, friends. It is important that no portals are opened between Nirn and the realms of the Daedra"

"I have a question regarding that" Meridor said.

"What may that be?" Azura asked.

"Chancellor Ocato said that each plane of Oblivion is a completely different plane of existence, so how can any other Daedra travel to Nirn through a portal between here and Tamriel?"

"According to Hermaeus Mora, it is possible but he does not know how" Azura replied. "I am prepared to believe anything that he says. Opening portals to planes of Oblivion, regardless of who they belong to, is too great a risk"

"Azura, I'm sure you know why we are here" Marina said. "Do you know who plans to invade Nirn?"

"Yes, I do" Azura said. "Jyggalag, Peryite, Molag Bal, Malacath, Namira and Vaermina"

"Namira?" Raminus said, surprised. "I did not know she was this evil"

"Maybe not, but she is easily influenced. By my reckoning, Jyggalag simply asked her nicely"

"This task will not be easy" Marina said bleakly. "The only Daedra from that list that have artifacts directly associated with them are Molag Bal and Namira"

"Not exactly" Azura said. "Malacath's spirit is contained within Volendrung. Ancient texts refer to it as the Warhammer of Malacath, but when it fell into the hands of the Dwemer they renamed it, and the new name stuck. Finding Volendrung may be difficult though. Are you familiar with its history?"

"Vaguely" Raminus said. The other four shook their heads.

"Volendrung is a powerful warhammer forged by Malacath" Azura said. "Thousands of years ago, in the days of the Dwemer, the hammer fell into the hands of the King of the Rourken, a clan of Dwarves who were exiled from Morrowind after the Battle of Red Mountain. It is said that the King cast Volendrung across Tamriel, promising to lead his people to wherever it landed. This is not entirely true – of course, a mortal cannot throw a warhammer very far. It was in fact Malacath who cast the hammer across Tamriel. It landed in what is now the province of Hammerfell, or Volenfell as it is sometimes called.

"The hammer has one unique trait. If it is not satisfied with its owner, it will disappear, sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes for hundreds of years, then materialise somewhere in Tamriel, waiting for a better bearer to happen upon it. The hammer disappeared when the last of the Rourken died out, and returned to the possession of Malacath. Recently a worshipper to Malacath retrieved the hammer, but left it in a chest in his home, gathering dust. The hammer was dissatisfied and disappeared, and nobody, including Malacath, knows where it lies now"

"Azura, there are figures approaching" one of Azura's guards, an Altmer, said suddenly. Azura followed his line of sight, as did the other five. Indeed, there were ten or so figures moving towards them. When the group saw what they were wearing, their hearts stopped. They were wearing the signature black armour of the Blackwood Company.


	4. The Mace of Molag Bal

**Chapter 4 – The Mace of Molag Bal**

_Olo Ancestral Tomb_

The stairway that led out of the burial room emerged in a much wider, taller chamber. The three recognised it at once – they were in the room where they had entered the tomb, the other side of the rising-floor trap. On their side of the chamber was another corridor leading further into the tomb, but it was blocked by a sturdy portcullis-like gate.

"Look for a way to open it" Agam-Na said. "And watch out for the rising floor!"

Storm and Ciara began to search around the chamber. Several walls rose up to head height, creating many small alcoves. But they all appeared to be empty, with no means of opening the door. Agam-Na, meanwhile, examined the rising floor trap. There seemed to be two square-shaped sections of rising floor, but only one of them had spikes protruding from the ceiling above it. The other rising floor seemed to rise into an empty alcove in the ceiling. Then Agam-Na saw it – a small button, with a blue crystal in its centre, mounted into the wall of the alcove.

"Clever" Agam-Na said to himself. He stepped gingerly onto the raising floor. It didn't move straight away, but once he had taken a couple of paces onto it a hidden mechanism sprung into action and catapulted the floor section upwards at tremendous speed. Agam-Na instinctively dived to the ground.

When the floor stopped moving, he opened his eyes. By the light of his torch he could see that he was in the alcove. He located the button and pushed it with the palm of his hand. As soon as he did so, the floor lowered again and he could hear the gate opening.

"You had us worried for a second there!" Storm called to him.

The corridor ahead of them stretched out into the darkness. In the first 20 or so yards of the corridor, several grooves were cut into the walls and ceiling at regular intervals.

"Swinging blades" Agam-Na explained. "As long as we stay close to the ground we will be safe"

"I'll go first" Storm said. He got on his hands and knees and began to crawl along the floor of the corridor. As he passed one of the grooves, a wedge-shaped blade began to swing backwards and forwards in a pendulum-like motion over him, mere inches from his back. Agam-Na began to follow him.

"Ghosts!" Ciara cried suddenly. "In front of you!"

She was right. Three ghosts were floating down the corridor towards them. Like the ghosts they had encountered in the burial chamber, they were wielding ancient swords and shields.

"Hold them off!" Storm called back to Ciara. Every time Storm inched forwards, another blade swung down from above him. Ciara tried to aim through the forest of swinging blades. They were all swinging in synchronisation with each other, so if she could time it just right…

As Storm crawled along, he could see the ghosts moving towards him. He estimated he had 5 yards to go before he could safely stand up…

An arrow suddenly soared over his head, perfectly timed to fly through the gaps between the blades, and collided with one of the ghosts. The ghost reeled back, clearly wounded, but did not die. As Storm continued crawling forwards, another arrow flew past him and hit the ghost, this time killing it. Storm eventually got to a point where he could safely stand up, and drew his sword.

--------------

Meanwhile, Arzel lay on the ground of the burial chamber, Baran keeping a close eye on him. The blast of arcane ice to his head had severely hurt him, attacking his brain and disrupting his senses and thoughts, but the Orc healer had managed to help him to recover. With Arzel still not fit to fight, all they could do was wait for the other three to return.

"Come on then, Arzel, I don't know much about you" Baran said. "Or anybody on this quest, for that matter. How did you end up involved in all this?"

"I was a guard Captain back in Hammerfell" Arzel said weakly. "Then I left service, and decided to become a blacksmith. It got pretty boring, you know, for a warrior sort like me. So when a call went out around Hammerfell for somebody worthy of representing our nation on what the Duke of Hammerfell said was the most important task in the history of Tamriel, I thought I'd put myself forward. And I got the job. How did you get involved, then?"

"Well, I'm a Champion of Wrothgaria Fighters' Guild, and also a trainer in blunt weapons and healing, and I just received a letter one day ordering me to travel to the Imperial City immediately"

"Nice. Do you know anything about anyone else who's here?"

"I know that Dramas is the son of a nobleman in Morrowind, hence his surname, Telvanni. Supposedly he's the best warrior in Morrowind"

"How about Agam-Na? You can tell he's got a story behind him…"

----------

_Thorn, eastern Black Marsh, eight years ago_

In the bustling tavern in central Thorn, Rejeet eventually forced his way to the front of the bar.

"Yes?" the innkeeper asked.

"We're sick of ale and wine" Rejeet slurred. "What else have you got?"

"It depends how much you want to spend"

"I don't care!" Rejeet said loudly. "Give us something that will show us a good time!"

The innkeeper reached below the counter and produced a small purple bottle.

"Skooma" the innkeeper said. "You want a good time? 50 Drakes and it's yours"

Rejeet emptied a handful of coins onto the bar counter and took the bottle with him. He found his table again and sat down next to Agam-Na, placing the bottle on the table.

"Skooma" Rejeet explained. "I don't know what it is, but the barman said it will show us a good time!"

"It's from Elsweyr" Agam-Na said, examining the bottle. "They refine it from moon sugar and smuggle it into other provinces. Argonia's the only place where it's still legal"

"Give me the history lesson another time" Rejeet said. He picked up two of the many empty glasses on the table and poured half the Skooma into each one.

------------

Agam-Na retched but nothing came out. He must have got the last of the vile liquid out of his body. Standing up, he staggered back out onto the street, looking for Rejeet.

"Look! Agam-Na!" Rejeet called. He was standing on a bridge across the river that flowed through the centre of Thorn. The water moved quickly under the bridge, before cascading at least 50 feet down a dramatic waterfall, down into the lower part of the town.

"I can fly! Watch!" Rejeet shouted.

"No!" Agam-Na yelled as he began sprinting towards his friend. But he was too late – Rejeet leapt off the bridge and plunged down into the river. Agam-Na went to jump into the river after him but knew there was nothing he would be able to do. He would have only a few seconds before the current dragged him over…

At that moment, the current of the river got the better of Rejeet and he was dragged over the edge of the waterfall. He screamed all the way down until his body smashed into the rocks at the base of the waterfall.

_Thorn, Guild of Mages, common area_

"Agam-Na! You look terrible… Where's Rejeet? I thought he was with you"

Agam-Na motioned Sa-Meena to stop talking.

"Just get me a bottle of wine" he snapped.

-------------

Several hours later, Agam-Na opened his eyes. He had fallen asleep at the table in the common room. Four bottles of wine lay on the table in front of him, all empty.

"Agam-Na!" he heard a voice saying. It was Neekuma, the guildmistress.

"Agam-Na, what in the name of the Nine is wrong with you?"

He looked at the elderly woman, but said nothing.

"I've heard it all. Going out on a drunken binge, letting an associate take his own life! This is not the sort of behaviour I tolerate, especially from someone in your position! You are expelled from the Guild!"

"Wait…"

"No, I won't wait. Gather your belongings and leave immediately. And take your blasted alcohol with you!"

As Agam-Na staggered towards the door of the Guildhall he could still hear Neekuma shouting behind him.

"_I hope you're happy that most of our apprentices won't graduate this year because they've lost one of their lecturers!"_

_------------- _

"Redguard Valley Cave…"

A voice seemed to come from everywhere. It belonged to a woman. Agam-Na opened his eyes – he was somewhere he had never seen the likes of before in his life. It was more beautiful than anything he could ever have imagined. Grasslands and forests, forests made from trees he had never even seen before, stretched off in all directions. In the direction he was facing was a colossal mountain range. Even from the distance he was from the mountains, he could see silver streaks formed by the sunlight reflecting off waterfalls. At the base of the mountains was a beautiful city seemingly forged from silver.

"Curse this Skooma" he said to himself. "Making me see things. Where am I?"

"Redguard Valley Cave" the voice said again. Then, Agam-Na fell back to sleep.

-------------

Agam-Na was woken by a hand vigorously shaking his body. As he opened his eyes, he took in his surroundings. His clothes felt wet, and he stank of mead and wine. It took him a while to realise he was still in Thorn, on the outskirts of the town, Black Marsh stretching out into the distance from the end of the street.

"Get off me!" he shouted, trying to get to his feet. An Altmer woman was standing in front of him. Immediately he regretted his hostility – she looked upon him with kindness and sympathy, not disgust as most Elves did. Behind her stood a Khajiit in fur armour, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"Are you Agam-Na?" the woman asked. "Your Guild said you might be here"

Agam-Na nodded. He realised that the building he had been sleeping in front of was his old home. He had sold it when he became a scholar for the Guild, choosing to live in the Guildhall instead.

"Yes, I'm Agam-Na. What do you want?"

"I mean you no harm" the woman said quickly. "I am Marina of the Summerset Isle Guild of Mages. This is my friend, Ri'Azba" she said, pointing to the Khajiit.

"Summerset Isle? Why are you here?"

"Two reasons. There was a particular ruin I was looking for along the southern border of Morrowind for some research, and the towns of northern Argonia are more hospitable than the tiny villages of southern Morrowind. And I'd heard that you know more than almost anyone else about the ancient races"

"Well, I wouldn't say that" Agam-Na said. "But I am a scholar in the ancient races"

"Do you know what this is?" Marina asked, handing a scroll to Agam-Na. On the scroll was a roughly-drawn picture of a circular metal door recessed into rough stone. He recognised it at once as a Dwemer door, normally found on their ruins. However, in the centre of the door was a perfectly round diamond.

"What is this? Where did you find it?" Agam-Na asked.

"It is the entrance to the ruin I'm looking for" Marina said. "I've found it, but I can't get in"

"This exists in Black Marsh?" Agam-Na said, astonished.

"Yes. I thought the Dwemer lived extensively in these parts"

"But this door is secured. It's a Dwemer light lock. They're normally found only on the old Dwemer palaces in Morrowind. This is fascinating…"

"Do you know how to open it?"

"Yes. See this diamond here? Somewhere near the ruin will be another diamond like this, probably just recessed into a rockface or something. And there will be a small compartment behind this second diamond. If you light a fire in the compartment, the two diamonds will focus the light into a beam, which triggers some sort of mechanism which opens a door"

"Thank you very much for your help, Agam-Na"

"Wait… Are you travelling to this ruin now?"

"Yes, we are"

"Can I come with you?"

---------------

_Olo Ancestral Tomb_

Having dealt with the three ghosts, Storm continued leading the group further into the tomb.

"We must be in the right place" Agam-Na said as they walked along. "This amount of traps must be guarding something of immense value. The only Ayleid structures to contain this many traps are sacred tombs and halls…"

"Agam-Na, you can write a book about it later" Storm interrupted. "Does this look like a trigger stone to you?"

The floor in front of Storm was slightly raised, and a gap between the two slabs was clearly visible.

"It covers the whole floor, there's no way past without stepping on it" Agam-Na said. "It's a test of courage. If one wants what lies ahead so much, they will have to activate the trap to get to it"

"Good luck, everybody" Storm said, stepping on the trigger stone. Behind and above them, a mechanism sprung into life. Suddenly, a vertical portcullis-like grate, with many spikes protruding from it, dropped down from a gap in the ceiling behind Ciara. At this point, the three of them noticed tracks cut into the ceiling above them. It was obvious what was about to happen.

The grate began to thunder down the corridor towards the three of them, clattering along the ceiling-mounted tracks.

"Run!" Agam-Na yelled as the three of them sprinted for their lives down the corridor. Ciara looked over her shoulder. It was too fast. They could not outrun it. In one swift movement, Ciara drew her dagger, a fine example of Dwarven craftsmanship made from the gold-coloured, almost unbreakable metal their weapons were made from, and jammed the blade into the gap between the trigger stone and the solid floor beyond it. Then she ran to catch up with the other two.

Her mad plan worked – the grate collided with the handle of the dagger and was stopped dead in its tracks, giving the three time to get to the safety of a corner in the corridor. Eventually, the crumbling stone floor gave way and the dagger was catapulted from its position, flying down the corridor and clattering to the ground next to Ciara.

"I can't believe that actually worked…" Storm said. Ciara picked the dagger up.

"They're not just for stabbing things, you know"

The corridor emerged in a small chamber, lit almost as bright as daylight by Welkynd stones mounted on plinths. In the centre of the room, on a pedestal, was a coffin. But what was on top of the coffin was much more important. A scroll, and next to it, the Mace of Molag Bal.

Storm picked up the mace and secured it under his belt, whilst Agam-Na unwrapped the scroll and read it out loud.

"Dear adventurer, you are clearly worthy of great things to have made it this far alive. To reward you, I shall grant you information. The Ring of Namira lies in Leafrot Cave"

"I hate to point out the obvious" Storm said, "But I think we should make for Leafrot Cave…"


	5. The Ring of Namira

**Chapter 5 – The Ring of Namira**

"At arms! At arms!" Marina shouted. At once, Ri'Azba drew his bow and began firing at the Blackwood Company men, whilst Dramas began to hurl fireballs towards them. Marina and Raminus joined them, as several of the Blackwood Company men drew bows of their own and returned the volley of fire. Dramas and Raminus ducked behind their shields, whilst Ri'Azba simply dodged the arrows. Meridor turned to Azura.

"How did they follow us here?"

"I don't know!" Azura shouted back, clearly distressed. Her two guards drew their swords and began to run in the direction of the Blackwood Company men, whilst Azura cast an almighty bolt of lightning towards them, hitting one in the chest and killing him before he knew what had happened.

"Damnit, there's more of them!" Raminus shouted suddenly, pointing behind them. Another group of ten mercenaries were charging towards them – they were surrounded.

"You need to escape!" Azura said. "The portal you travelled here through should still be open where you entered the realm!"

The portal was indeed still open, but the Blackwood Company stood in the way.

"Alright, everyone, we're going to have to fight our way out of this!" Marina said authoritatively. "Meridor, Dramas, Raminus, lead the charge to the portal! Ri'Azba, help me hold the others off!"

As she was speaking, Azura cast a bright, glowing light into the sky. At once, two more of the silver-clad guards, who were waiting on the boat that had brought Azura to where they were, began running up the hill to aid her.

Meridor, Dramas and Raminus all drew their swords and, along with Azura's two bodyguards, began charging towards the Blackwood Company men. They collided with enormous force, taking down three of them immediately. Meridor, Dramas and Azura's guards fought hard with their swords, blocking off blows until the opportunity came to deliver their own lethal strikes. Raminus circled the battle, hurling fireballs into the Blackwood Company's ranks whilst avoiding their own arrows.

Marina and Ri'Azba were struggling to keep the advancing second Blackwood group at bay. Marina had failed to take into account that Ri'Azba's bow would be useless against their heavy armour. Not even the other two members of Azura's guard throwing themselves into their ranks helped – they lasted about a minute before they were cut down by the superior numbers. Azura stood next to Marina, launching powerful spells into them, but it was still no good.

"Meridor!" Ri'Azba shouted. The Wood Elf turned round and saw that his help was needed. He sprinted to their aid.

Soon, Dramas, Raminus and Azura's bodyguards had cleared the way to the portal.

"Marina!" Dramas shouted. "The way is clear!"

"Azura, do you need our help?" Marina asked.

"You think mercenaries can defeat a Daedric Princess?" Azura said. "I will be able to defeat these scum. But they seem to be here to kill you and your friends. You have to leave, now!"

"Thank you for your help, great Azura" Marina said. "Alright everyone, into the portal now! If we get split up, make for the Council Chambers!"

The portal looked exactly the same as the one at the shrine had – a marble archway with a bright blue light glowing in its centre. Dramas and Raminus leapt into the portal and simply vanished into thin air. Ri'Azba reached the portal, but instead of entering it, he drew his bow and began firing as quickly as he could into the Blackwood Company soldiers to try and hold them off. Meridor reached the portal…

All of a sudden, a fireball flew through the air and slammed into the archway, coming from a battlemage in the Blackwood Company's rank. To Meridor's horror, the archway collapsed and the portal disappeared.

"No…" Meridor said to himself. "There's no way out…"

"We'll have to fight them all off!" Marina said. "We are warriors, are we not?"

"There's too many of them!" Meridor cried. "There's even more of them coming!" He pointed over Marina's shoulder. About 200 yards away, more Blackwood Company soldiers were running up the hill towards them.

"They must have a portal open!" Marina exclaimed.

"Marina" Meridor said, a sudden air of authority to his voice. "Make yourself and Ri'Azba invisible. Find the portal. Find where they're coming from and who they're working for. I'll distract them"

"I can't leave you here to die!" Marina said. "We'll all get out of this together!"

"If this is not a cause worth dieing for, then what is?" Meridor said. "This is our only chance to find how these bastards knew where we were"

"You are a hero, Meridor, and you will not be forgotten" Marina said, placing her hands on the Bosmer's shoulders. "Godspeed to you, Meridor"

"And you, Marina"

With that, Meridor sheathed his sword and began sprinting in the opposite direction to that which the Blackwood Company had emerged from.

"Make for the portal" Marina said to Ri'Azba. "I'll see you on the other side"

Marina cast a spell over herself and Ri'Azba, causing them to both disappear.

"Where did they go?" one of the Blackwood Company men shouted.

"Who cares? The spell will wear off soon" another replied. "Let's take down the Bosmer!"

Meridor ran until he could run no further. He turned around and removed his helm and cuirass. He wanted the end to come quickly. He saw a Blackwood Company sword glimmer in the sunlight as it was plunged into his chest.

Then everything went black.

------------

Marina opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Ri'Azba, standing in front of her. But as she took in her surroundings, her heart sank.

They were in Leyawiin, outside the Blackwood Company building. No clues at all as to who was paying them.

"Let's check inside" she said bleakly. Ri'Azba cautiously pushed open the large door of the building. Inside it was completely empty. Marina sat down on the floor and buried her head in her hands.

"This is what Meridor died for" she said. "Nothing. A dead end"

"You cannot blame yourself" Ri'Azba said, sitting down next to her. "Meridor died for what he believed in. He knew that he had to make sure you were safe. We could not do any of this without you"

Marina was touched by the Khajiit's kindness. "Thank you, friend" she said, getting to her feet. "Come on, let's have a look for clues in this place"

------------

_The Council Chambers, Imperial City_

Raminus and Dramas, weary from the journey down from Azura's shrine in the Jerall mountains, eventually reached the Council Chambers. They were equally surprised and dismayed when the only person in the chambers was Chancellor Ocato, examining a silver mace on the table in front of him.

"You have returned!" Ocato said, standing up. "What news do you bring?"

"Where to start?" Raminus said. "The good news is we know which Daedra are in on the plot. It's Jyggalag, Peryite, Molag Bal, Malacath, Namira and Vaermina"

"And the bad news?"

"We got split up from Marina, Ri'Azba and Meridor. The Blackwood Company somehow managed to follow us into Moonshadow"

"That band of mercenaries?" Ocato said, shocked. "How?"

"I thought they followed us in through the portal from Azura's shrine, but when we got back there was no sign that anyone apart from us had been there" Dramas said. "What news of the others?"

"Well, we have had success on that front" Ocato said. "Agam-Na briefly stopped by the chambers. They found the Mace of Molag Bal and discovered that the Ring of Namira is located in Leafrot Cave. They've gone off to find it"

"The Argonian knows what he's doing, then" Dramas said. At that moment, the doors to the Council Chambers flew open and Marina ran in, followed by Ri'Azba, both looking tired and drained.

"Thank the Nine, you made it back!" Raminus exclaimed. "But… Where's Meridor?"

"He sacrificed himself to give myself and Ri'Azba a chance to escape" Marina said. Everybody bowed their heads in silent respect.

"Chancellor, have you heard from the other five?" Marina asked.

"Yes. They have recovered the Mace, and found that the Ring of Namira lies in Leafrot Cave. They have gone to retrieve it"

"Leafrot Cave?" Marina said. She suddenly sounded very worried.

"What is it, Marina?" Ocato asked. Marina produced a scroll, unwrapped it and placed it on the table in front of Ocato.

"It's from the Blackwood Company building in Leyawiin" she said. "The others are in danger! We have to go and help them!"

Ocato examined the scroll. It was a map of Cyrodiil, with Leafrot Cave, and a trail leading to it, marked upon the map. Underneath the map was written the text 'Leave no-one alive. If you can, find the ring. Leave by the river'

--------------

_Leafrot Cave, Panther River basin_

"Stand aside" Baran said. Ciara removed her lockpick from the lock of the wooden door after several unsuccessful attempts at picking the lock. Baran swung his warhammer as hard as he could into the door, punching a hole straight through the rotting wood. He then reached a hand through the hole and unlatched it from the other side.

The door led into a small chamber with no other way out of it.

"This is it, the end of the cave" Storm said. "It must be in here somewhere"

Three words kept resonating through Agam-Na's mind. The words of Azura. Redguard Valley Cave.

"Storm, you know a lot about the geography of Cyrodiil, don't you?"

"Yes" Storm said. "Why do you ask?"

"Has this cave ever been referred to as anything else?"

"No, as far as I know it's always been Leafrot Cave and some very old texts have referred to it. Why do you ask?"

"No reason"

"Hey, Professor, come and look at this!" Arzel called to Agam-Na. He had found what seemed to be a map engraved into the wall. Agam-Na studied it and realised it represented the chamber they were in. A picture of the ring was drawn in the centre of the map.

"I think it's showing us where the ring is buried" Agam-Na said. "It should be in the direct centre of the chamber…"

Storm and Baran began digging through the dust and shingle that made up the floor of the chamber with their hands. Soon, Baran found a small jewellery box. He hesitated it, then opened it. Inside was a ring, made from silver but possessed of a purple glow and encrusted with pink and purple jewels.

"I'd say this is it" Baran said, admiring the ring.

"There's one way to find out" Agam-Na said. "Put the ring on, Baran"

Baran removed one of his gauntlets and placed the ring on his index finger.

"Now, Storm, throw this at him" Agam-Na said, grinning, as he handed a stone about the size of a tomato to Storm. Most people would have dismissed what Agam-Na said as a joke, but Storm knew that the Argonian scholar only did things if he knew it would achieve something. Ciara laughed as Storm hurled the rock at Baran, hitting the Orc in his cuirass. Naturally, Baran was not hurt at all. Strangely, Storm felt a very small impact in his own chest.

"Did you feel like something hit you?" Agam-Na asked. Storm nodded. "That's the power of the ring" Agam-Na explained. "It reflects part of any attacks against the wearer. Baran, you look after it until we get back to the Council Chambers"

"Someone's coming!" Ciara said suddenly. Everyone listened carefully – they could hear footsteps approaching, followed by a voice.

"This is the end of the cavern. They must be in there. Do not leave any of them alive"

"OK, everyone, form up!" Agam-Na whispered. "There's no use trying to defend ourselves, we're just going to have to fight our way out!"

The break-out from the cavern was perfectly co-ordinated – as Ciara leapt out of the chamber, she simultaneously unleashed an arrow which hit one of the seven Blackwood Company men in the forehead and knocked him to the ground, dead. At the same time, a fireball unleashed by Agam-Na hit another mercenary, sending him flying backwards into the cavern wall. Taken aback by the ferocity of the attack, the mercenaries began to scatter and break their formation. At this point, Storm, Arzel and Baran burst out of the chamber, Arzel immediately taking one of the mercenaries down.

"Head outside! Come on! Follow me!" Agam-Na shouted as he sprinted through the chaos. Storm ran in front of him and took the lead, cutting down another mercenary on the way. Ciara followed them, with Arzel and Baran at a short distance behind them, holding the remaining mercenaries off.

Agam-Na just kept running, kept following Storm towards the exit of the cave. The other three could handle the mercenaries.

"Agam-Na!" he heard Baran shout. "There's only one left!"

Storm and Agam-Na stopped, and walked towards them. The mercenary had dropped his weapon on the ground in surrender.

"Please, don't kill me…" he pleaded. "I am just earning a living…"

"If you help us we'll let you go" Agam-Na said. "Who are you working for?"

"I don't know… I receive orders from my commander, who's Blackwood Company…"

"You have never seen the people you are working for in your hall?"

"I have seen one man… I don't know his name… He wears a red robe and hood…"

The five of them stood in shocked silence.

"What shade of red?" Agam-Na demanded. "The colour of blood?"

"That's right!" the mercenary said.

"It can't be…" Storm whispered.

"A secretive group, trying to eliminate those attempting to stop Daedric Lords invading Nirn!" Agam-Na said angrily. "If this isn't the Mythic Dawn, then who the hell is it? We have to get out of here, now! You, how many more men are there?"

"I think around fifteen more outside, waiting to be called in if we needed help"

"You are free to go. Lie low for a few hours. There's going to be a big fight outside which you don't want to get caught up in"

Storm reached the wooden door that led out of the cave first. As he waited for the other four to catch up, he peered through gaps in the wood. Outside he could see several Blackwood Company soldiers walking around, waiting for orders from inside which were now never going to arrive. A small lake lay outside the cave, fed by a spring flowing from some nearby rocks. A river flowed out of the lake, down a series of rapids to what Storm guessed would be the Panther River, and eventually the Niben. Two canoes were moored in the lake, and four of the Blackwood Company soldiers were on horseback. The five were not in fighting condition – they were still exhausted from the quest to retrieve the Mace of Molag Bal, and the battle they had just fought in the cave. They would have to escape rather than fight, and the canoes would be the perfect way to do it.

Agam-Na shortly caught up with Storm.

"What can you see?" he asked.

"There are a lot of mercenaries out there" Storm said. "Two two-man canoes and four horses. There's a river leading down to the Niben"

"We should break out and make for the canoes" Agam-Na said. "And try and take out one of the horsemen. Arzel is an expert horse-rider"


	6. The River

**Chapter 6 – The River**

The door of Leafrot Cavern flew open and a scene of absolute chaos erupted on the shores of the small lake at the cavern's entrance. An arrow soared out of the open door and collided with one of the horsemen, causing the horse to panic and throw its rider to the ground. At exactly the same moment, Storm, Arzel and Baran all burst out of the cavern. Two mercenaries ran at them, but before either of them could get chance to attack, Arzel thrust his sword into one of them, skilfully aiming his blow so his sword punched through the gap between the plates of the mercenary's armour. Baran smashed his warhammer down onto the head of the other mercenary, causing it to simply burst like a watermelon.

"Agam-Na! Make for the canoes!" Storm shouted. He began to run towards one of the canoes, Arzel helping him fight off any mercenaries that got in his way.

As he did so, Agam-Na and Ciara ran from the cavern, Ciara constantly unleashing arrows at the mercenaries. Agam-Na ran to catch up with Storm – as before, Storm and Agam-Na would be leading. Baran ran alongside Agam-Na, preventing any mercenaries from attacking their leader. Eventually, Agam-Na reached the shoreline and leapt into the canoe, just as Storm cut the rope tying it to a small post on the shoreline as Agam-Na's momentum pushed the boat out onto the water.

"See you in Bravil!" Storm shouted back to the other three. "Good luck!"

"Baran, take the other boat!" Ciara called to the Orc. "I'll cover you!"

Baran made a run for the second canoe. His large physique and heavy armour meant he was not a fast runner, but he had the advantage of being more than able to take on anything that got in his way. He reached the canoe and simply snapped the rope anchoring it to the shoreline.

"Come on, Ciara, let's get out of here!" Arzel said. He noticed one of the mercenaries mounted on horseback was charging towards them. He leapt out of the way just in time, as Ciara launched an arrow directly into the rider's face, causing him to fall lifelessly to the ground as the horse stopped abruptly. Arzel seized the moment and leapt on the horse, quickly taming it, then grabbed Ciara with one of his arms and hoisted her onto the saddle behind him, just as a Blackwood Company mercenary swung an axe at her head, missing her by inches.

"Hold them off!" Arzel called back to her. "I'm going to follow the course of the river!"

Baran, meanwhile, was in trouble. Several of the mercenaries had boarded another two canoes, which had been obscured behind a rock so Storm had not seen them from the entrance of the cave. One mercenary in each canoe was carrying a bow, and they began firing at Baran immediately. Baran began to paddle as quickly as he could, and soon reached where the small river left the lake, plunging down steep rapids which Storm had already skilfully navigated. If he could catch up with Storm's canoe or Arzel's horse, he would be safe…

Several of the mounted mercenaries had begun pursuing Arzel and Ciara, whilst Ciara tried to hold them off with her bow. One mercenary caught up with them and tried to shove them off the horse, but Ciara stabbed her dagger into the mercenary's temple, stopping him abruptly. At this point, she noticed the other two horses had the same idea as them – there was a mercenary armed with a bow on the back of each. Agam-Na had also noticed.

"Ciara! Bring down the archers!" he shouted from downriver. Storm skilfully negotiated the canoe down the raging rapids, Baran close behind him following the same route. Agam-Na sat in the back of the canoe, facing backwards, holding on for dear life with one hand and hurling bolts of lightning towards the pursuing horses and canoes with the other.

Baran suddenly felt a sharp impact on the hull of his canoe. He quickly looked around and saw that an arrow had hit the canoe just below the waterline, ripping an enormous hole through the hull! Water began to flood into the canoe as he desperately paddled to the shore of the river and leapt out of the boat. The two canoes behind him were catching up, the archers still unleashing a relentless volley of arrows at him. He felt arrows harmlessly bouncing from his Orcish armour, but it just needed one to hit him in the exposed areas around his temples or the base of his neck…

"Baran!" he heard Arzel shout. "Go over the bank! The river curves round!"

Baran clambered as fast as he could up the bank of the river until it reached a crest, then he slid down the loose shingle on the other side, ducking behind a rock. He would have to time this perfectly…

As one of the mercenary canoes came past, concentrating on the pursuit of Storm's boat, Baran leapt out from behind the rock, onto the canoe! He swung his warhammer horizontally, and in one fell swoop he killed the mercenary with the oar and knocked the archer overboard. He threw his warhammer down and took up the paddle, battling to right the course of the canoe, as the archer clambered into the other canoe.

On the riverbanks, Ciara was struggling to get a good aim on the archers. The horsemen had learnt a lesson from the fall of their comrade and were keeping their distance, but Agam-Na and Storm were still in danger from the archers on the remaining canoe.

"I need a clearer shot!" Ciara shouted to Arzel. "I need to be on Storm's boat!"

Arzel eyed a small, low bridge up ahead where the path crossed to the opposite bank of the river.

"Storm!" Arzel called down to Storm. "Swap passengers!"

Storm nodded to show he had heard him, as their canoe and Arzel's horse approached the bridge. What happened next was so immaculately timed it looked like it had been rehearsed a thousand times. Storm dropped his paddle and lifted Agam-Na up with both arms, and practically hurled him upwards, where Arzel caught him and hoisted him onto the back of his horse, At the exact same moment, Ciara leapt off the horse, and in mid-air released the drawstring of her bow, the arrow hitting one of the mercenary archers square between the eyes, before she landed in the canoe and ducked down just in time to avoid the bridge.

Baran, meanwhile, had been too busy avoiding arrows to watch his course and ran aground. He desperately leapt out of his canoe into the other one, and realised he had left his warhammer in his canoe. Dismayed, he watched the canoe containing his weapon fly past as the canoe he was in hurtled downriver. He was now on a small boat with two mercenaries, and no weapon.

_Take out the swordsman, _he thought to himself. The mercenary who had been holding the oar had dropped it in favour for a sword, and began swinging it wildly at Baran. Baran used his armoured arms to block the blows, swinging his fist into the man's face and knocking him unconscious. Baran grabbed the fallen mercenary's sword and turned round… but it was too late.

"Baran's in trouble!" Arzel shouted. "Professor, do you know how to ride a horse?"

"Yes!" Agam-Na called back. "But what about the riders behind us?"

"Ciara will take care of them!" With that, Arzel leapt off the horse and landed on the riverbank, and began sprinting towards Baran. Agam-Na slid forward on the saddle and took the reins of the horse. There were still three riders behind him, and arrows were flying from all three horses towards him and Storm's canoe, whilst Ciara constantly fired her own volley back towards the riders.

Arzel ran as fast as he could to reach Baran in time. But it was too late. He watched in horror as the archer stabbed an arrow into the Orc's eye, and kept pushing until Baran fell lifelessly to the ground.

"No!" Arzel shouted. "You bastard!"

With every ounce of aggression he could muster, he swung his sword at the archer and sliced the mercenary's head clean from his body. He dragged the canoe to the shoreline to try and revive Baran but it was too late. Baran gro-Oran had just become the second member of the group to lose their life on the quest to save Nirn.

Arzel dropped his sword and turned round. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. Figures in red robes and hoods. Lots of them, all carrying Daedric weapons, running towards him.

"Get back or we'll kill you!" one of them shouted to him. Arzel picked up his sword and lunged at the nearest figure, his sword slicing through the man's robe like a knife through butter. Three of the other figures began running towards him, as two others began to carry Baran's body back up the riverbank.

_Why did they want Baran's body?_ Arzel thought to himself as he desperately fought off the four robed figures. Then he realised.

Baran had the Ring of Namira on his finger.

--------------

Storm swung the canoe hard around to starboard as the group reached the Panther River. The foaming rapids had stopped, and the water was now calm. Agam-Na's horse galloped as fast as it could be made to do along the shoreline, with two mercenary riders still hot on its tail. Then, as they reached the bridge across the Panther, Agam-Na saw four figures standing on it. He recognised them immediately. Marina, Ri'Azba, Raminus Polus and Dramas Telvanni. Assaulted by a burst of arrows and destructive spells, the two mercenary riders were killed. Agam-Na brought the horse to a stop and leapt off as Storm brought the canoe to shore.

"Where's Meridor?" Agam-Na asked.

"I'll tell you later" Marina said. "Did you get the ring? Where are Arzel and Baran?"

"We got the ring" Agam-Na said, out of breath. "Baran has it…"

Agam-Na stopped mid-sentence.

"We have to go and find them! Now!" Storm said. He began to sprint back up the hill, following the course of the river from Leafrot Cave. Agam-Na, Ciara and Ri'Azba ran after him, the other three, not as quick on foot, following it a slower pace.

------------

_Mournhold Palace, Morrowind, several weeks earlier_

"This is diabolical! I cannot possibly let you proceed with this plan!"

"Do you remember what you said to me? You said you wished the glory of the Dunmer to be restored!"

"But not this way! If you let this happen, the whole of Tamriel may be in jeopardy, let alone Morrowind!"

"Think about it. If the saviour of Nirn is a Dunmer, our race will once again gain the power over Tamriel that we deserve"

"What a narrow-minded view you have. Tamriel was saved by a Redguard during the Oblivion crisis. Has Hammerfell become the most powerful nation in Tamriel?"

"You leave me with no choice. It is a member of our house being sent to Cyrodiil, not yours. I never needed your help anyway"

With that, the elderly Dunmer drew a dagger and stuck it into the other Dunmer's chest, holding it in until his victim fell lifelessly to the ground.

"And so passes Ervas Redoran, Patriarch of the Great House of Redoran" he said to himself, before turning to his aide.

"Get me Dramas Telvanni. Now!"

------------

Storm reached the crest of a hill and saw a scene of chaos down below. There were many figures, wearing red robes and hoods. A glowing portal of some sort, similar to the one Azura had opened. Arzel, fighting off several of the figures. And three more of the robed figures, dragging Baran towards the portal.

"Ciara! Ri'Azba! Bring them down!" Storm ordered. "Everyone at arms!"

Ri'Azba drew his bow and skilfully brought down one of the figures dragging Baran. But as he took aim at the second, they reached the portal and threw him in, leaping into the portal after him.

With the rest of the group helping him, Arzel easily fought off the remaining robed figures and ran to join the group.

"What happened to Baran?" Agam-Na asked. "Is he alright?"

"No" Arzel said bleakly. "He didn't make it. And he still has the Ring of Namira on his finger. I couldn't get to him in time"

"Déjà vu" Storm said. "The Mythic Dawn take a relic needed to save Tamriel into the depths of Oblivion once again…"

"You need to rest" Agam-Na said. Arzel threw down his sword and collapsed onto the grass.

"Agam-Na" Marina said, walking over to them. "Crisis meeting"

She walked briskly over to where Raminus was standing, Agam-Na following close behind.

"We think we know who's behind the Blackwood Company" Marina said. "It's…"

"Mythic Dawn" Agam-Na said. "We captured one of the mercenaries who said he had seen one of these red-robed men around the Blackwood Company building"

"It would make sense" Raminus said. "Think about it, they've been following us at every turn. They found their way to Moonshadow…"

"What?" Agam-Na said in shock. Marina and Raminus remembered that Agam-Na didn't know of the events in Azura's realm, and recounted the tale to him, including the death of Meridor.

"The Daedra must be helping them" Agam-Na said. "Telling them exactly what we are doing. How else would they know to come to Leafrot Cave to find the Ring of Namira?"

"The Ring…" Marina said. "We were so close, but now we've lost it. Along with one of our finest warriors…"

"We could always go into the portal after them…" Agam-Na suggested.

"Are you proposing that we go into a portal, into an unknown realm of Oblivion, and recover the Ring of Namira?" Raminus said, dumbfounded.

"No" Agam-Na replied. "I'm suggesting we do all that, and gather the essence of whatever Daedra owns the realm we're travelling to. And I am not sure which Daedra that will be. There's something confusing me…"

"What is that?"

"Let's think about who could have opened this portal. It can't be Molag Bal, because we have the mace. It can't be Namira, because the ring was in Nirn before the portal was opened. Peryite's, Malacath's and Vaermina's realms are believed to be inaccessible by mortals"

"There is one more possibility…" Marina said.

"What?"

"If a band of mercenaries can reach Moonshadow once, surely they can do it again…"

"Let's just enter the portal and hope we end up in Moonshadow, then" Agam-Na said.

"Raminus, gather everybody else" Marina said. "This won't be easy…"


	7. Depths of Oblivion

**Chapter 7 – The Realms of Oblivion**

Storm suddenly materialised in a world unlike any other he had seen. A completely flat bed of rock stretched off in all directions as far as the eye could see, completely devoid of any life. But, to the north, was what appeared to be a city. It was made up mostly of black towers, which had ziggurat-shaped bases from which towers made from a jet-black glass vaulted upwards towards wide, flat structures built on top of them, giving them a mushroom-like appearance. There were also several white spire-shaped towers which scaled to enormous heights, culminating in a sharp spike, whilst in the centre of the city was a circular dark red tower that seemed to be even higher than the others.

Storm looked around. Ciara had appeared next to him.

"Where are we?" she asked as she took in the surroundings.

"I wish I knew" Storm replied. "I can't even see the Mythic Dawn men…"

One by one, the rest of the group materialised. Out of all of them, it was Agam-Na who was most taken aback by their surroundings.

"No text refers to a place that looks anything like this…" he said in amazement.

"Where do you think we are, then?" Storm asked.

Agam-Na didn't reply. His eyes were focused on the enormous red tower in the centre of the city.

"We have to get to that tower" he said, turning to Marina. "Trust me. I'll explain on the way"

"I do trust you" Marina replied. "Alright, everyone, make for the red tower. Storm, you're on point. Watch out for the Mythic Dawn"

The group fell into a line formation and began running towards the city. Storm went in front, followed by Ciara, Agam-Na behind her, then Raminus and Arzel, then Marina and Ri'Azba, and Dramas at the back.

"Marina, who is in charge of this quest?" Dramas said as they ran. "You or the Argonian?"

Marina turned to face the Dunmer. "What do you mean?"

"You are following his instruction, yet you do not even know why he wants to get to this tower"

"Dramas, the reason Agam-Na is on this quest is because he knows a damn sight more about the Daedra than we do. If there wasn't an important reason why he wants to get to that tower, he wouldn't be leading us there"

At the front of the group, Ciara and Agam-Na were also talking about their purpose here.

"What do you think is in that tower, Agam-Na?" Ciara asked the scholar.

"I'm positive it will be the Sigil Stone"

"Sigil Stone?"

"Yes. I believe we're in a plane of Oblivion, as opposed to a realm. They're miniature worlds created by the Daedra, used as hiding places or as platforms to launch attacks into other realms. The Sigil Stone contains the essence of the Daedra who created the plane, and removing it will cause the plane to collapse, and anything left in the plane will re-appear in Nirn at the site of the portal they entered the realm through. If you think of the plane as an archway, the Sigil Stone is like the keystone…"

"Agam-Na, give me the lecture later…"

"Sorry. I believe the Mythic Dawn are using this plane as a holding camp. If we can reach the Sigil Stone and destroy the plane, Baran's body will re-appear right where it entered the plane from… right next to where we will re-appear"

-----------

Around an hour later, the group reached the city and began running through its streets to reach the red tower. Enormous towers vaulted up to the skies all around them, but with no obvious means of entry.

"Where are the Mythic Dawn?" Ri'Azba asked Marina as they followed Storm through the city.

"I don't know" she replied. "Maybe they got enough of a headstart to reach wherever they were going before we saw them, maybe they used an invisibility spell to hide themselves from our eyes. In hindsight, maybe we should have done that as well"

Storm reached an enormous round door at the base of the red tower. With Marina's orders, he pushed on it and it gradually swung open.

"OK, let's just get ourselves organised" Marina said. "As soon as we go in, we might get ambushed by the Mythic Dawn. We might not have time to regroup, and it is imperative that we reach the top of this tower"

"Yes. Why exactly do we need to get to the top of the tower?" Dramas asked, looking at Agam-Na.

"Because that's where the Sigil Stone that holds this plane of Oblivion together is most likely to be found" Agam-Na replied. "Yes, I am taking an educated guess but if you have any better ideas as to where to go from here I'd love to hear them"

"Very well. What's the plan?"

"Agam-Na, you probably know more about this than the rest of us" Marina said. "What do you propose?"

Agam-Na peered in through the doorway. A thin but intensely glowing beam of what looked like fire was rising from a hole in the centre of the floor. Two doorways were visible beyond this.

"It looks like a standard Sigil keep layout" he said. "The same as all of the Champion of Cyrodiil's accounts describe. There's two ways up the tower, both running parallel to each other, so maybe we should split up again"

"Alright, then. Ri'Azba, Raminus, Arzel, you're with me. Dramas, Storm, Ciara, you're with Agam-Na. Let's go!"

Storm, Ciara and Dramas led the charge into the tower. As they suspected, there were many Mythic Dawn guards patrolling the ground floor. But now they had one advantage – the Mythic Dawn tended to wear robes as opposed to heavy armour, so Ciara and Ri'Azba's bows would now be effective against their enemies.

Two Mythic Dawn soldiers immediately summoned Daedric maces and charged at the three of them, but both had barely got five paces before Ciara had felled them with an arrow to the forehead. At that moment, four more burst out of side-passages towards them. Storm and Dramas drew their swords and charged to face them, as Ciara brought one down with her bow and Ri'Azba, running in from outside, took down another. Storm swung his sword at one of the Mythic Dawn guards, but the guard blocked it with his mace, causing Storm to recoil briefly. The guard swung his mace at Storm, but Storm managed to duck just in time, feeling the mace brush against his leather armour. He drove his sword into the Mythic Dawn man's chest and let the lifeless body fall to the ground. Dramas blocked a mace blow with his shield, then dropped his sword and held his hand to the Mythic Dawn man's face – a surge of electricity seemed to flow out of Dramas into the Mythic Dawn guard, who convulsed wildly before falling to the ground, dead.

"We need to move quickly!" Marina said. "We can't give them chance to organise a proper defense! Agam-Na, you take left, I'll see you at the top!"

-------------

Storm led Agam-Na's group up a steep, winding corridor which seemed to be spiralling up around the outside of the tower. Occasionally a Mythic Dawn soldier would get in their way but Ciara would bring it down with her bow.

They reached the top of the corridor and emerged in a large chamber which spanned the entire width of the tower. An assortment of beds, chests and cupboards littered the room.

"We're in the guard quarters!" Dramas exclaimed. At that moment, three of the five Mythic Dawn soldiers in the room charged at them. The other two were enveloped in a yellow light, which subsided to reveal that they were both wearing full suits of conjured Daedric armour!

"Damnit, Argonian, look what you've got us into!" Dramas shouted as they began to retreat down the corridor.

"Shut up and fight!" Storm yelled at him. Dramas drew his bow and fired at one of the Mythic Dawn soldiers, hitting him in the thigh. As the soldier fell to the ground in pain, Dramas drew a second arrow and fired it into the soldier's scalp. Storm blocked a mace blow with his sword and returned the blow, taking down the soldier he was fighting, whilst Ciara skilfully took down the third unarmoured soldier with her bow. There were now two remaining Mythic Dawn agents in the room – the two with the bound Daedric armour.

Storm and Dramas charged at them and began fighting vainly against the heavily-armoured soldiers but soon found themselves forced into a corner. They both stood back-to-back, absorbing the recoil from the blows of each others' enemies, whilst they fought on with their swords. It was no use. Daedric armour was practically impenetrable. How were they supposed to kill the Mythic Dawn men?

Suddenly, Dramas' Elven shield disintegrated in his hands. At that moment he realised the man he was fighting was using some sort of enchantment to damage Dramas' armour. Dramas felt a searing pain as the Mythic Dawn soldier's sword sliced across his arm, leaving a deep gash which blood began to pour from. As he fell to his knees in pain he noticed something. A gap between the man's greaves and cuirass. Without missing a beat, he drove his sword upwards into it, pushing the sword gruesomely through the Mythic Dawn agent until it severed his spine and he fell to the ground.

Storm was having less luck. He was now separated from Dramas and pinned against a wall. The Mythic Dawn soldier brought his mace up above his head and swung down. Storm managed to block the blow with his sword but the impact knocked him to the ground.

Ciara watched in horror as the Mythic Dawn man went to smash his mace down on Storm's head. Thoughts rushed through her brain.

_Why hadn't Storm been able to kill the man? Because he was wearing impenetrable armour. Armour which he had summoned. If only Storm could hold on until the spell wore off…_

Then it hit her. She drew an arrow and dipped the arrowhead into an open glass bottle on her belt, nocked it in her bow and fired. The arrow sailed across the room and hit the Mythic Dawn man's back. Then, as the dispelling poison took effect, the man's armour simply vanished, leaving him wearing nothing but his red Mythic Dawn robe again. Storm reacted instantly, crash-tackling the man to the ground and ramming his sword into his chest.

"Good thinking, Ciara" Storm said, standing up. "You saved my hides there!"

"Just repay the favour at some point" Ciara replied, putting an arm on Storm's shoulder.

At that moment, from a corridor identical to the one they had emerged from, Marina's team, led by Ri'Azba, appeared.

"Nice of you to show up on time, Marina" Agam-Na said.

"We had a bit of a fight further down" Marina replied. "Are you all OK?"

Agam-Na turned to look at Dramas. He had ripped a strip from a Mythic Dawn robe and used it to bandage the wound inflicted on his arm.

"I can't use my left arm and my shield's been destroyed" he said. "But I can still use my sword, so I'm still of some use"

"Excellent" Agam-Na said. "It looks like there's only one way up from here"

_Moonshadow, Palace of Azura_

Three figures sat around the large table in the Great Hall of Moonshadow Palace. Three of the most powerful beings in existence. Azura, Hermaeus Mora and Meridia.

"I am aware why you have brought us here, Azura" Hermaeus said. "You believe that the mortals cannot stop the evil ones without our help"

"Yes, that is why I seek your counsel" Azura said. "Their success depends not just on knowledge, but also victory in combat against their many foes. And now that they have lost two of their most able warriors…"

"Plus, they are currently in a plane of Oblivion which we don't know who it belongs to" Meridia said. "And there is the issue of what they do next when they retrieve the Ring of Namira. If they retrieve it, that is…"

"What do you mean?"

"They will have the essence of Molag Bal and Namira. But what of the other Daedra? Peryite, Malacath, Vaermina and Jyggalag?"

"Jyggalag's essence will be easy to retrieve" Hermaeus said. "I know that the Sword of Jyggalag resides on display in New Sheoth Palace in Sheogorath's realm. I am sure that Sheogorath will gladly give up possession of the sword if it means the defeat of his oldest foe"

"But we still have the problem that the group are trapped in this plane of Oblivion"

"Then let us help them"

--------------

The eight reached a large circular door, on a balcony overlooking an enormous pit in the centre of the tower.

"This must be the Sigil room" Agam-Na said. "It feels like we've been going up forever…"

Storm tried the door, and to his surprise it opened. With Ciara and Ri'Azba covering him he burst through the doorway… into a completely empty room.

The column of flame that had risen up the centre of the tower simply faded away and stopped in the centre of the chamber. Agam-Na stepped in, took in the surroundings and realised that he had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

"I don't understand…" he said. "This is a Sigil keep, but there's no stone. And if someone removed it, how can this plane still exist?"

"No wonder it was so lightly guarded!" Arzel said. "They've tricked us!"

Suddenly, a blinding white light flooded the room. A figure seemed to materialise in the room, and when the light subsided the figure was revealed to be a woman in flowing silk robes and golden hair.

"Who are you?" Raminus asked in awe.

"I am Meridia" she replied. "I have been sent here by Azura and Hermaeus Mora as they believe me to have the greatest affinity with living creatures"

"Meridia…" Marina said. "What have we done to earn the blessing of your presence?"

"I am here to help you" Marina said. "You are pursuing Mythic Dawn agents who hold the Ring of Namira. They are currently attempting to leave this plane of Oblivion via a portal to the south. They built this Sigil Keep as a decoy"

"We have to stop them!" Storm said. "But we'll never catch up with them in time!"

"That's where spellcraft comes in" Marina said. "I can make us all able to run faster than you can possibly imagine. Everyone stand in front of me – you are about to learn the meaning of haste. Meridia, what will you do?"

Meridia summoned a golden battle-axe, then in a flash of golden light, four Aurorans, the towering golden warrior servants of Meridia, materialised.

"Count me in" Meridia said.

_New Sheoth Palace, The Shivering Isles_

"We cannot hold them!" Commander Alzen said grimly, striding back into the palace. "The Forces of Order are too great! What shall we do?"

Sheogorath turned to the Golden Saint commander. "Look in the chest behind the throne. I have a stockpile of Hearts of Order. Order everyone to break out of the palace and destroy as many obelisks as you can! Spread the word of Madness!"

"What will you do, My Lord?"

"I will come out and fight alongside of you. My grasp over this realm is greater than Jyggalag knows"

"With respect, My Lord, is this not too great a risk?" Haskill said. "You will surely be killed!"

"They can kill me if they wish" Sheogorath said nonchalantly. "I've survived being killed before. Besides, they're not here for me. They're here for this"

Sheogorath strode over to an altar at the back of the throne room and picked up a bright silver, almost white sword from it. He handed it to Commander Alzen.

"Jyggalag wants his sword back" he said. "But he's not going to get it. Go into the Dementia throne room. There is a secret tunnel which leads out to the back of the palace, to the west. No pressure, but if Jyggalag gets this sword the world will end!"

Commander Alzen and two of her Golden Saint soldiers ran as fast as they could towards the Dementia throne room of New Sheoth palace. Sheogorath watched them run, then stepped outside.

The external area of the palace was a scene of utter chaos. The Golden Saints and Dark Seducers were vainly fighting off a horde of Knights of Order, who were constantly materialising from strange crystalline obelisks. And in the centre, an enormous metallic figure stood, striding towards the palace.

"Jyggalag!" Sheogorath shouted. "Good to see you again!"

"Where is my sword?" Jyggalag bellowed.

"I couldn't possibly tell you that, could I?" Sheogorath called back. "Where would the fun be in that?"

Jyggalag hurled a colossal bolt of lightning at Sheogorath, but Sheogorath raised his staff, causing the lightning bolt to seemingly bend around him and collide harmlessly with the walls of New Sheoth Palace.

"Now, now, if you want the sword, which I clearly don't have, why are you trying to kill me?"

"Because I already have the sword! Commander Alzen and her guard are dead, and my Priests of Order bringing the sword to me as I speak!"

"What?" Sheogorath said in shock.

"I built this realm, you demented fool!" Jyggalag boomed. "Of course I know about your little secret escape route! I laid a little ambush in there for your Aureal!"

"Kill him!" Sheogorath shouted at the top of his voice. "Kill Jyggalag! Kill him now!"

Several miles west, in the wastelands of Dementia on the shores of a small lake, Commander Alzen and one other Golden Saint, Guardian Iria, emerged from an ancient stone door and collapsed onto the grass on the sloping shoreline. It had been a tough battle, but they had fought off the ambush from the Forces of Order. And they still had the Sword of Jyggalag with them.

"Now what?" Iria asked.

"I don't know" Alzen replied. "Sheogorath merely told me to keep the sword safe"

"_Commander Alzen" _Alzen heard a voice inside her head. It was Sheogorath. She looked at Iria, who was still lying on the grass, recuperating. Had she heard the voice?

"_You must listen carefully. It is vital that Jyggalag does not get his sword back. You must travel to the Realm of Order and close all means of travel between there and here. Make your way back to New Sheoth Palace, and I will give you further instruction. Do not worry, nobody will attack you"_

"Iria, we must return to the Palace" Alzen said. "As stereotypical as it sounds, the voices in my head are telling me to"

"You're mad"

"I may be. Let's hope this time that I'm not"

-------------

Eleven invisible figures ran at blinding speed south of the mysterious empty city, pursuing three Mythic Dawn agents who were still blissfully unaware of their pursuers. Meridia and her Aurorans ran alongside six members of the group. Two were absent – Storm and Ciara. They had gone to find the Sigil Stone.

As they got nearer, Ri'Azba drew his bow and took down one of the Mythic Dawn agents. The invisibility spell was broken as he did so, but as soon as the Mythic Dawn realised what was going on, the four Aurorans charged at them and cut them down with their Elven battle axes.

"Meridia, I have a question" Agam-Na said as the group began searching the bodies. for the Ring of Namira.

"What is it, Argonian?" Meridia replied.

"Your followers, the Aurorans. I thought they betrayed you and joined forces with Umaril the Unfeathered"

"Not all of them did. Some remained loyal to me"

"You did not have to power to prevent the betrayal?"

"Agam-Na, my position as a Daedric Princess has always been tentative at best" Meridia said. "I'm sure you are aware of how Tiber Septim was transformed into Talos, one of the Nine Divines. It is a similar history to mine. I was once merely an Aldmer, and in essence I still am"

"How did you become a Daedric Princess?"

"I do not know" Meridia replied. "One day, in the First Age, I fell asleep, into a deep sleep for thousands of years. When I awoke I had become Meridia"

"I've found it!" Arzel called. He removed the Ring of Namira from the finger of one of the dead Mythic Dawn agents, and handed it to Marina.

"Give it to Agam-Na" she said. "I trust him with it more than I trust myself"

Agam-Na took the ring and placed it over his finger, next to his emerald Guild of Mages ring.

"Now what?" Raminus asked. "Into the portal?" He pointed to the portal that the Mythic Dawn agents were heading towards before they were killed.

"No. There is no telling where it might emerge" Marina said. "We were lucky this time. We have two options. We can journey north to where we entered the realm, or we can rest and wait for Storm and Ciara to find the Sigil Stone.

"You need to rest" Meridia said. She turned and faced the heavens. "Azura, anything to report?"

Azura's voice boomed down from the pitch-black sky.

"I have word from Hermaeus. The Sword of Jyggalag is in the Realm of Order, but Jyggalag is not"

"Who is up for an expedition to the Realms of Order, then?" Marina said, looking at the group.

"Should we not wait for Storm and Ciara first?" Raminus said.

Another voice thundered down from the sky. "Don't worry, I'll get you all there"

"Hermaeus Mora" Meridia explained to the group. "He controls the very fabric of reality. He can make it so that when Storm and Ciara find the stone, the plane will collapse into the Realm of Order"

"We should take a rest, then" Marina said. "I think we've earned it"


	8. Storm and Ciara

**Chapter 8 – Storm and Ciara**

"Any ideas where we're going, then?" Ciara asked. They were walking along a precarious, narrow footbridge that led out of the highest level of the false Sigil tower towards one of the black towers.

"My instincts are telling me that the Sigil keep will be hard to get to" Storm said. "So I'm just going to keep picking the most dangerous-looking route"

"In that case, I hope your instincts are right" Ciara replied, inching along the bridge which was no more than two feet wide and had no form of wall or handrail at all.

"Watch for marksmen" Storm said. "We're quite exposed up here"

Soon, they reached the other end of the bridge and found themselves on the top section of one of the black towers. It was a large square platform, the top and bottom slowly tapering inwards towards the edges. There were three more bridges leading from it, all leading to more of the black towers.

"I've got an idea" Storm said. "I'm guessing there will be guards in the Sigil keep. Can you rustle me up a life-detection potion?"

"Good thinking" Ciara said as she opened her small bag of alchemical supplies. "Just a minute"

----------

_Hunter's Arms Inn, Whiterun, Skyrim, several weeks earlier_

"What can I do you for, Breton?" the barkeeper asked, taking a glass down from the shelf above him.

"Just get me a pint of the local brew" the young Breton woman replied, placing a handful of coins on the bar counter. The barkeeper began pouring mead from a cask into the glass.

"What brings you to Skyrim, then?" he asked.

"I am journeying to Cyrodiil. Chancellor Ocato has summoned me to the Imperial City. I don't yet know my purpose there. Right now, though, I'm doing a bit of freelance work for the local Guild of Mages because I'm short on money. They want a shield recovering from an old Nedic ruin. I'm in here because I'm trying to find out where the damn ruin is!"

"See that fellow over there in the corner? Dark blonde hair? That's Storm of Falkreath. He knows a lot about the back-country round here. You should go and ask him"

Ciara thanked the barkeeper and began to walk across the room. An old, drunken Nord man grabbed her arm on the way past.

"Hey, young lady!"

"Get off me" Ciara snapped, pulling her arm free.

"Whatcha going to do, Breton? Cast a spell on me?"

"No, but I'll stick an arrow in your eye"

Ciara approached the man the barkeeper had pointed out to her.

"Excuse me, are you Storm of Falkreath?"

"Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?"

"I am Ciara Erlasia of Daggerfall. I'm working for the Guild of Mages and I'm looking for Fort Hurden"

"It's about 2 miles east of town" Storm replied. "Deep in the forests. What are they sending you there for?"

"There's an Elven shield of some sort in there that they want for research. They told me there's a locked door in there somewhere, and they gave me the key for it"

"Will you be alright on your own?" Storm asked. "Bands of marauders quite often use the forts as hideouts"

"You're welcome to come along" Ciara said. "I'll go halves on the reward with you if you do. All I need is enough gold for the caravan to the Imperial City"

"You are journeying to Cyrodiil too?" Storm said, surprised. "I was planning on departing tomorrow evening to the Imperial City"

"I received a letter from Chancellor Ocato ordering me to travel to the palace. I don't know why"

"Glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't know what he wants, then!" Storm said, pointing to the circular glass amulet around his neck. Ciara hadn't noticed it before. It was identical to the one she was wearing.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Ciara asked. Storm nodded. "We shall leave at dawn, then"

_Crucible, New Sheoth, The Shivering Isles_

Commander Alzen and Iria raced upwards through the alleyways of Crucible, towards New Sheoth Palace. The streets were empty – all the Dark Seducers were fighting in the palace and the citizens had barricaded themselves in their homes. Alzen and Iria were possibly the two most skilled soldiers in Sheogorath's realm – they were both highly skilled in both swordsmanship and archery. A Knight of Order charged down from the steps leading to the palace but was cut down in its path by Commander Alzen. She ripped open the knight's hollow metallic body and removed its heart from the spiderweb-like cradle that held it in place. Then, she saw another Knight running towards them.

"There must be an obelisk somewhere in Crucible" Alzen said.

"With respect, Commander, we do not have time to look for it" Iria replied.

"You're right. Stay on guard!"

Alzen began running up the steps towards the palace, Iria behind her, when an Order Priest raced out of the palace entrance and unleashed a bolt of lightning from his staff. The bolt slammed into Commander Alzen's chest and knocked her backwards, sending her tumbling down the steps. Iria didn't miss a beat as she drew her bow and placed an arrow directly in the priest's forehead.

"Commander!" she cried, turning round. To her relief, Alzen shakily got to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Iria asked.

"I'll live" Alzen replied, casting a healing spell on herself. "Come on, we're almost there"

As they began to walk up the steps, away from the deserted town, a ghostly form of Sheogorath appeared in front of them.

"What are your orders, Madgod?" Alzen asked.

"I don't have much time. It's draining me a bit, casting this spectral form. And you don't have much time either. Once you're in the courtyard, you need to enter the portal that Jyggalag arrived through. It's an enormous white ball of light, you can't really miss it! Oh, and cast a flare once you get into the courtyard. I'll give you a helping hand"

"It shall be done, Your Highness" Alzen said as the spectre disappeared. "Iria, do you have any flares left?"

"Just one" Iria replied, drawing a white-tipped arrow from her quiver.

"Good, that's all we need"

--------------

Alzen and Iria raced through the arched entrance-way into the palace courtyard, where the battle was still raging. Jyggalag and Sheogorath fought at the top of the grand stairway that led to the palace itself – Jyggalag hurling lightning at Sheogorath, while Sheogorath blocked and reflected the lightning back at Jyggalag.

Iria loaded the white-tipped arrow into her bow and fired it high into the air. At a height of about 50 feet it burst in a brilliant flash of light. Sheogorath raised his staff…

…and everything stopped. The Golden Saint and Dark Seducer soldiers, the soldiers of Order, they all seemed to simply freeze. The only things still moving were Jyggalag and Sheogorath.

"Go! Go!" Sheogorath bellowed to them. "And send my regards to the others! Tell Meridia I want Wabbajack back!"

Jyggalag immediately cottoned on to what was going on. He cast an almighty bolt of lightning at Commander Alzen, but she managed to avoid it. It was now a race – Alzen and Iria had to make it to the portal before Jyggalag killed them.

"Iria, take the sword!" Commander Alzen said, handing the glittering silver sword to Iria. "You are able to make yourself invisible. You have a better chance of getting there than I do"

"Godspeed to you, Commander" Iria said, taking the Sword of Jyggalag. They both began to race towards the portal, Iria shrouded by invisibility but Commander Alzen still visible.

Iria, the faster runner of the two, made it to the portal and leapt into it, disappearing into thin air in a flash of white light. Commander Alzen was only four strides away from the portal.

She made two, before a bolt of lightning slammed into her leg. She fell to the ground, screaming in pain. So close… In a last-ditch effort, she lunged forwards and reached her hand into the portal…

_Fort Hurden, Skyrim_

"Storm, can I ask you something?" Ciara said as they walked slowly down the dark, crumbling corridor of the ancient fortress.

"What is it?"

"Does this seem a little strange to you? I mean, the Guild gave a freelance adventurer a key, ask them to go and unlock a door in an old ruin and bring back whatever's inside? I mean, could they not have sent someone themselves?"

"Like I said, you never know who or what you might find in these old ruins. But I'm with you on this, it does seem a little suspect"

"Hey, look!" Ciara said, pointing down the corridor. By the dim light of Storm's torch they could see a sturdy cast-iron door with a large keyhole set into it. With Ciara watching him, bow in hand, Storm placed the key into the hole and turned it, springing the lock open. As he opened the door, something unexpected happened. A woman's voice, Elven by the sounds of it, came from the darkness beyond.

"Ciara?"

Ciara recognised the voice. It was Heremia, the Altmer woman from the Mages' Guild that had given her the job. Ciara raced forwards into the room, Storm following her.

"What are you doing here?" Ciara demanded. "I thought you couldn't get into this room?"

"I'm so sorry, Ciara… They said they would kill me and my family if I did not help them…"

"What do you mean?" Ciara asked. "Who are 'they'?"

"You were right!" Storm said. "It's a set-up!"

"Your friend is right" Heremia wept. "They told me to send you down here so they could kill you… They will be here soon…"

Ciara walked over to Heremia and gave her a glass bottle which she had taken from her small bag.

"It's a long-lasting invisibility potion" Ciara explained. "Get out of here, now. Don't let them know you were down here. And thanks for the warning"

"What are we going to do, then?" Storm asked, turning to Ciara.

"We're going to fight our way out!"

---------------

A few minutes had passed since Heremia had left. Ciara had found the shield she had been sent down here for. It was a normal Ayleid shield, easily bought from rare armour specialists in Cyrodiil. It had been coated in dust to give the impression it had been resting in the fort for many years, but whoever had planted it had been careless and left fingermarks in the dust. When Ciara thought about it, she felt a fool for falling for it. How would an Ayleid shield have ended up behind a locked door in a Nedic fortress, and how would the Guild of Mages have come into possession of the key before anyone else, thousands of years after the fortress had been built?

"Here they come" Storm said bleakly. "Six of them… In red robes. Actually, this shouldn't be too difficult"

Ciara raised her bow and fired through the open doorway, hitting one of the attackers in the solar plexus.

"You fight well!" a loud voice boomed back from down the corridor. "Maybe this will be a challenge after all!"

"Watch my back, will you?" Storm called back to Ciara.

"Alright, as long as you don't let any of them get too close to me!"

Storm and Ciara fought off the six assassins without difficulty. Their lack of armour meant they were almost defenceless against Storm's expert swordsmanship, and none of them could even get near Ciara before she felled them with her bow.

"Let's make a deal" Storm said after the short battle. "Whatever we are being called to Cyrodiil for, we'll look out for each other"

"Agreed" Ciara said. "Who were they?"

"The only group I know of who wear red robes are the Mythic Dawn, a Daedric cult. But I don't see why they would want us dead…"

By the next morning, their caravan had arrived in Weye, near the Imperial City. On the journey, Storm and Ciara had talked at length about each other's backgrounds. Storm had made his name as an explorer and adventurer, charting the large, uninhabited mountain ranges that made up much of Skyrim. He had retired from the exploring trade to become a teacher of geography at a university in his hometown of Falkreath, supplementing his income with freelance work for the Guild of Fighters. Ciara was also a freelance adventurer, and earnt a living being paid by various guilds and businesses to go places they would not. When the High Rock council learnt that two powerful mages (Raminus Polus and Marina) were also being sent to Cyrodiil, they decided to send the gifted archer and alchemist instead of one of the many skilled mages in High Rock.

As soon as they had disembarked the caravan, a Nord man in an exquisite blue robe approached them.

"I am Honmer, aide to Chancellor Ocato" he introduced himself. "There has been a slight change of plan. One of the other people Chancellor Ocato has summoned has been captured and is being held in an Ayleid ruin near Leyawiin. I've been ordered to tell everyone wearing the glass amulets to proceed there immediately"

"Fair enough" Storm said, climbing back into the caravan. Honmer handed a small bag of gold to Ciara.

"Travel expenses" he explained. "You are to meet in the Three Sisters Lodge. Look out for a High Elf called Marina"

_Unknown plane of Oblivion, the present day_

Marina stood still, constantly scanning the horizon. Behind her, Dramas did the same in the opposite direction. They were on watch while the rest of the group had a much-needed rest. By her feet, Agam-Na and Ri'Azba slept on the ground. Marina had much respect for the two of them. They had spent their lives being ostracised from most societies, simply because of their race, yet Ri'Azba had proved himself an extremely able fighter and Agam-Na had been invaluable so far, as a leader and repository of much-needed knowledge. But she knew that not all of the group trusted his leadership. Nobody could hide the fact that there was one large obstacle the group had to overcome – Dramas Telvanni. Marina could read him like a book. He had his own agenda here – he wanted to be the hero, to be the one to save Nirn. He was also very outspoken in his untrusting of Agam-Na. Whether he was doing this to try and cause disruption in the group so he could eventually emerge the hero, or simply because Argonians were viewed as little more than beasts of labour by his old-fashioned Telvanni culture, remained to be seen.

------------

High above the nearby city, Storm and Ciara easily fought off four Mythic Dawn guards who had flooded out of a small structure at the top of one of the towers. As they stepped through the circular doorway, Storm examined the door. Round, and forged from a golden metal.

"It looks Dwarven" he said. "Agam-Na will be fascinated by that, I imagine"

"This is all going straight over my head now…" Ciara remarked. "It's just a door…"

Inside, hovering above a pedestal, was a spherical object made from a jet-black material, but with a fiery glow radiating from the centre. This had to be the Sigil Stone…

"Now what?" Ciara asked.

"We remove it from the pedestal and the plane collapses, and we all end up back in Cyrodiil" Storm replied.

"About time" Ciara said as Storm placed both his hands around the Sigil Stone and removed it from the pedestal.

-------------

Marina froze. A loud rumble began to fill the air, and flashes of white light appeared everywhere. Streams of light seemed to fly out of the ground towards one of the towers in the city.

"Get up, everyone!" she shouted over the noise. Everybody began to get to their feet as the magnificent spectacle of a plane of Oblivion collapsing in on itself unfolded all around them.

_The Realm of Order_

Iria opened her eyes. She was surrounded by undulating hills, coated in a grey snow-like substance. Crystalline formations sprouted from the ground all around them, and patrols of Knights of Order, commanded by Order Priests, roamed the landscape. She had seen a place like this before, when the Forces of Order had captured The Fringe back in the Isles. She was in Jyggalag's kingdom, the Realm of Order. But had Commander Alzen made it?

A few seconds later, something materialised from the portal. When the burst of light subsided, Iria was relieved to see that it was Commander Alzen. She collapsed on the ground, an enormous, grotesque black burn mark all the way up her left leg.

"I got hit, but I made it" she said.

"Now what do we do?" Iria asked.

"Now, we try and stay alive"


	9. Order

**Chapter 9 – Order**

For several seconds, Storm could see nothing but white. Then, the blinding light gradually began to fade. He was in a hilly landscape, covered in what looked like snow. Where was he? Somewhere in the Jerall Mountains? But when he noticed an enormous crystalline structure towering into the sky at the horizon, he realised he was somewhere else entirely.

"Storm?" he heard a voice say. It was Ciara, standing next to him.

"No, I don't know where we are either" Storm said.

"Hey, look, there's the others" Ciara said, pointing in front of them. The other six members of the group were walking briskly towards them, along with Meridia and her four Auroran guardians.

-----------

"I imagine you're wondering where we are" Agam-Na said when they met up.

"You imagined correctly" Storm replied. "I thought we were supposed to end up back in Cyrodiil?"

"We were. This is the Realm of Order, the realm of Jyggalag. Allegedly, his sword is somewhere in this realm but he's trapped in Sheogorath's realm. So Hermaeus Mora sent us on a diversion here to look for the sword"

"What are we up against?" Ciara asked.

"The Forces of Order" Agam-Na replied. "I've never encountered them myself. The Knights of Order are lifeless metal shells, commanded by the Order Priests. That's about all I know"

"Do you have the Sigil Stone?" Marina asked.

"Right here" Storm said, producing the stone, the size of an apple, from a pouch on his belt. "Oh, Agam-Na, the Sigil Keep was sealed by a Dwemer door…"

"Interesting…" Agam-Na said. "That should be a clue to working out whose essence the stone contains. But I'll need to consult some books, so it will have to wait. What's the plan, Marina?"

Marina looked around the desolate landscape. To the east was an enormous crystalline pyramid, surrounded by a tall wall. It looked like a palace of some sort.

"If we're looking for a sacred artifact, I'm guessing the palace will be a good place to start" Marina said. "We shall make for the palace"

As usual, Storm and Agam-Na led the group, followed by Marina and Ri'Azba. Ciara, Meridia and two of the Aurorans followed, with Raminus, Dramas, Arzel and the remaining two Aurorans at the back.

------------

Many miles away, Commander Alzen and Iria were taking a brief but much-needed rest. As they did. Haskill emerged from the portal near them.

"Haskill?" Commander Alzen said. "Do you have orders from the Madgod?"

"In a way, yes. He sent me here to help you on your way" Haskill replied. "Now we have a minute, I can tell you what is going on. There is a group of people from Tamriel somewhere in this realm, who seek the Sword of Jyggalag. The wider picture is that they're gathering artifacts belonging to certain Daedra to stop a group of Daedric Princes led by Jyggalag from invading Nirn"

"Very well" Alzen said. "But how are we supposed to find them?"

"By second-guessing them, Commander" Haskill said. "Look around you. If you were in this realm, looking for a sacred sword, where would you think it would be most likely to be?"

"In that palace to the west" Alzen said.

"Exactly. Go to the palace and look for them. They won't be hard to spot. They're the only things in this realm that aren't soldiers of Order"

"What news is there from New Sheoth, Haskill?" Iria asked.

"Your kinsmen and the Mazken defeated Jyggalag in battle. Since he cannot be banished back to here, he is currently in limbo. I would consider that a victory"

--------------

"Order patrol, 300 yards ahead" Storm said, motioning the group to stop. They were about halfway between where they entered the realm and the giant pyramid. Storm had spotted a group of twenty Knights of Order, in tight four-by-five formation, patrolling the desolate landscape. They were almost camouflaged against the endless grey and few others would have spotted them. At the head of the patrol was a figure in a black and silver robe, with a silver mask obscuring his face and a crystalline staff in his hands.

"That's a Priest of Order" Agam-Na said. "He's their commander. Watch out for that staff, they work like magnifying glasses to amplify ambient charge into bolts of lightning…"

"OK, Ciara, Ri'Azba, go up front. Attack as soon as you're in range" Marina said. "If they charge, we will too"

Marina was now confident of the combat abilities of the group she was leading. The untimely deaths of Meridor and Baran gro-Oran meant that they had lost two able warriors, and in terms of brute force they only had Storm, Arzel and Dramas left, but now Meridia and her four Aurorans were with them. They could still fight open battles such as this.

"There's another patrol behind us, Marina" Meridia said. "500 yards. I don't know if they've seen us yet"

Agam-Na overheard this and looked over at the patrol. Several of the Knights were looking at them, but quickly turned their heads away when they saw that Agam-Na was watching them.

"No, they have seen us" he said. "They're trying to surround us!"

Ahead of them, Ciara and Ri'Azba crouch-ran quickly towards the Order patrol. When they were within 100 yards of the patrol, Ri'Azba motioned Ciara to stop.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"Ready" Ciara said, nocking an arrow. "I'll buy you a drink if we can kill half of them before they reach us"

Both the marksmen released their arrows at once. They had good aim, and each arrow hit one of the knights in the side of the head, killing them instantly. The priest commanding them immediately ordered them to charge towards the group, using his staff to launch a bolt of lightning high into the air.

"It's some sort of signal" Ciara said. "Bring the priest down!"

Ri'Azba had already reloaded his bow and carefully took aim then fired. The priest saw the arrow coming and managed to dodge, and the arrow only winged his arm. Meanwhile, Ciara motioned behind her to Marina and Raminus – as she turned back, a flame atronach summoned by Raminus ran up to her and stopped by her side, unleashing a fireball towards the advancing knights, the resulting explosion sending two of them flying spectacularly through the air. The priest responded with a bolt of lightning which hit the atronach squarely in the chest, causing it to simply vanish into thin air.

"They're charging!" Ri'Azba shouted. Storm joined them, whilst Dramas, Arzel and Meridia braced themselves for the attack from the rear.

------------

Meanwhile, Iria and Commander Alzen raced towards the palace from the opposite direction. They had encountered no resistance, which implied that all the patrolling Knights had been called to fight off the group they were supposed to be delivering the sword to. Would their mission be in vain?

As they reached the palace, they saw there was an enormous gate in front of them. Before it was a drawbridge spanning what they initially thought to be a moat, but as they got closer it was revealed to be a chasm plunging down to unseen depths, which completely circled the palace. A group of order soldiers were guarding the bridge – 10 knights and a priest.

"There's no other way in" Commander Alzen said. "We're going to have to fight our way through"

"We can't take them, Commander. There's too many" Iria replied.

"The least we can do is try" Alzen said. "Godspeed to you"

-----------

Agam-Na watched the scene of chaos unfold. It seemed that every Knight of Order in the realm had been called to where they were to fight off these interlopers. He reckoned they were up against at least a hundred. Looking around, he saw they were about a mile from the palace. They were between the Order army and the palace, trying to hold their ground. Dramas, Storm, Arzel and the four Aurorans, as well as an assortment of Daedra summoned by Raminus and Marina, were fighting on the frontlines whilst Raminus, Marina, Ciara and Ri'Azba pummelled the Order soldiers from a distance with arrows and spells.

"Marina, we should route to the palace!" he called to Marina.

"You're right!" she called back. "OK everyone, make for the palace! This is a route, not a retreat! Continue fighting!"

The melee fighters in the group began backpedalling whilst still fighting the Order knights. In the middle of the Order ranks, a Xivilai summoned by Raminus was wreaking havoc as the Knights tried desperately to defend themselves from its colossal warhammer blows.

As they routed to the palace, Meridia pulled back and ran to Marina.

"Don't risk losing any more lives, Marina" she said. "Me and my Aurorans will be able to defeat these soldiers"

"And you cannot be killed by mortals…" Marina replied. "Thank you for your help, Meridia. I hope that we meet again"

Marina motioned everyone to stop fighting and make their way to the palace. Meridia drew her golden battle-axe and charged headlong into the Order soldiers, her four Auroran guardians doing the same.

------------

Soon, the group reached the towering crystalline wall surrounding the palace. There was a drawbridge across it, which was raised, and a sturdy metal portcullis guarding the entrance on the other side of the drawbridge.

"How are we going to get in?" Arzel asked, looking at the raised drawbridge. It looked like it was made from glass, and was perfectly clear. Through it, they could see a group of Order knights guarding the gate from the other side.

"My guess is it can only be lowered from the other side" Agam-Na said. "But there's no way to get to the other side…"

"I may be able to climb that wall" Ri'Azba said, looking at the crystalline wall. On closer inspection, its surface was quite rough, like a rock wall.

Ciara walked over to him and handed him a potion.

"It will make you invisible, so they don't see you" she explained. "Drink half now, then the other half after you've opened the gate"

Ri'Azba drank half the contents of the bottle, then, taking a large run-up, leapt across the chasm and grabbed onto the rocky wall on the far side of the enormous rift. He carefully began to free-climb up the rock, onto the crystalline walls of the palace, until eventually he reached the top of the wall. He gently lowered himself down on the other side of the wall, into the grounds of the palace. The patrol of Order soldiers wandered around the courtyard, oblivious to his presence. Ri'Azba sighted a black lever set into the walls near the gate. Drawing his bow, he ran over to the lever and pulled it. As soon as he moved the lever, the illusion of invisibility was broken and he re-appeared. The Knights of Order attacked at once.

The colossal drawbridge thundered down, bridging the chasm, as the portcullis quickly raised.

"Come on!" Marina said, leading the group across the drawbridge towards the palace. Storm overtook her to take the lead.

Ri'Azba hadn't drunk the rest of the invisibility potion – he hadn't needed to. He had managed to avoid the Order soldiers until he could retreat back and join the group. As he ran across the drawbridge, a fireball from Raminus blasted past him and slammed into an advancing Order soldier.

"Bring the priest down!" Agam-Na shouted, pointing at the black-and-silver-robed figure near the back of the Order patrol.

A Knight charged at Storm, still at the head of the group, and swung its sword down from above its head, but Storm blocked the blow with his shield. As the knight recoiled, Storm drove his sword into the knight's body, piercing its metallic skin. The life seemed to simply pour out of the knight, and it fell lifelessly from Storm's blade onto the ground. At this moment, he noticed two more knights about to attack him. One, Arzel raced forwards and took down. Storm swung his sword at the second. The knight reacted in time, using its sword to block Storm's blow, but Storm was the stronger of the two and his blow knocked the knight's sword out of its hands. The knight still did not surrender, swinging a fist at Storm. Storm, not expecting this, did not avoid the blow in time and was knocked to the ground by the knight's metallic fist.

"Cover Storm! Advance!" Marina shouted. The rest of the group charged forwards. Dramas sheathed his bow and drew his sword, whilst Raminus summoned his own sword from the realms of the Daedra. Dramas leapt over Storm, plunging his sword into the Knight of Order then covering the Nord while he stood up, fighting off another Order soldier. As he did, Ciara also dropped her bow and drew her trusty Dwemer dagger.

Ri'Azba, at the back of the battle, surveyed the scene in front of him. He could see the priest commanding his Knights with exaggerated hand movements. He lined up his bow and fired, the arrow striking the priest in the sternum. The priest fell to the ground, the life quickly fading from him.

------------

Commander Alzen and Iria backpedalled as quickly as they could, firing arrows into the group of Order knights guarding the drawbridge into the palace. Even as they hastily backpedalled, their aim was good and they managed easily to take down most of the soldiers. Then, the priest unleashed the power of his crystal staff and a bolt of lightning sprang from it, hitting Commander Alzen square in the chest. Alzen convulsed violently before dropping to the ground, completely still. Iria fired the arrow that was nocked in her bow, taking down the priest. She threw her bow to the ground, drew the Sword of Jyggalag from its hilt and charged at the remaining two knights. Using all the strength she could muster, she swung the sword horizontally, hewing the head from one of the knights. Before the other knight had time to react, Iria plunged her sword into its heart. She ran back to Commander Alzen and dropped down by her side.

"Commander? Commander, are you alright?"

Nothing. Iria had expected the worst. This was the third time Alzen had been on the receiving end of a bolt of lightning.

"You shall be remembered, Commander" Iria said, removing an amulet from around Alzen's neck. It was a golden amulet with a pentagonal piece of ebony inlaid into it – a gem worn only by the highest-ranking Aureans.

Iria sheathed the Sword of Jyggalag and picked her bow up from the ground. She took a clutch of arrows from Commander Alzen's quiver and placed them in her own. She had a daunting task ahead of her – she had to single-handedly storm the giant pyramid, and somehow find this mysterious group who she had to pass the sword onto.

------------

_Azura's Palace, Moonshadow_

Azura awoke in a cold sweat. She found herself in a small room, its surfaces fashioned from cold, bare stone, lit dimly by a torch suspending from the ceiling. Suddenly, the walls began to close in all around her. She had nowhere to go. She was about to be crushed.

Then, for a few seconds, everything went black. Azura appeared on a road, leading through undulating hills as far as the eye could see. The hills were barren and lifeless. No grass grew on them, and only the remains of a few burnt-out trees showed that life had once existed here. All around, she could see hundreds of Winged Twilights, the Daedra who served her. They were fighting overwhelming numbers of shadowy figures, completely obscured by black robes. She could see Winged Twilights being killed, then rising up only to be killed again.

Azura began to walk down the road. No matter how far she walked, the road kept stretching ever onwards, perfectly straight, into the horizon. She passed only two things. A dead Wood Elf and a dead Orc, lying on the roadside. Then, she saw another figure. A woman, dressed in black robes, with pale skin and jet-black hair. At first she thought it to be a vampire. Then she realised who it was – Vaermina.

"I will destroy everything you hold dear!" Vaermina bellowed. She cast her arms upwards to the night sky. Azura followed her arms, and saw the two moons of Nirn, Jode and Jone. Suddenly, they started to fly towards each other, until they collided with each other in a colossal explosion…

Azura opened her eyes. She was lying in her chamber in the palace of Moonshadow.

"My Lady, are you alright?" asked one of her Winged Twilight servants.

"I'm fine" Azura said. "It was just a dream"

------------

_Realm of Order, Jyggalag's Palace Grounds_

Storm, Arzel and Dramas fought their way through the Knights of Order. They now had the upper hand, both in terms of numbers and the fact that Ciara, Ri'Azba, Raminus and Marina were now behind the Order soldiers, pummelling their ranks with ranged attacks. Soon, the battle was won. Ahead of them, a colossal archway led to a sloping corridor cut into the crystal pyramid, leading steeply upwards into the palace's depths.

"Alright, everybody, take a quick rest" Marina said. "But not for long. We have a sword to find!"

"It's Dagon's!" Agam-Na said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him.

"The Sigil Stone" he explained. "I don't know how I could not have seen it before. The Mythic Dawn used that plane of Oblivion as a halfway house. They were trying to seize the Ring of Namira and take it further into Oblivion. The Mythic Dawn are a Dagon cult. They will not answer to any other of the Daedric Princes"

"But I thought the portals between Nirn and Dagon's realm were sealed forever?" Raminus said.

"Yes, which is why he used that plane of Oblivion. Think of it as a stepping stone. Very clever…"

"Does this mean Mehrunes Dagon is in on this plot?" Arzel asked.

"Not anymore" Storm said, tapping the pouch containing the Sigil Stone.


	10. The Sword of Jyggalag

**Chapter 10 – The Sword of Jyggalag**

The group ran up the steep corridor in tight formation. Storm was at the front as usual, but now had Dramas with him, followed by Raminus and Ri'Azba. Arzel guarded the rear. They were on the offensive now – they had to concentrate their power at the front of the group rather than watching their backs.

Soon, they emerged in a wide circular room. The first thing they noticed was how tall the room was – it seemed to stretch all the way to the top of the pyramid. A bright white beam of light, emanating from an enormous conical crystal in the centre of the room, shone up to the highest reaches of the chamber. Six passageways led from the chamber, two leading down and four leading up.

"I imagine they both lead to the top" Agam-Na said.

"Yes, but we should all stick together" Marina replied. "We're in completely uncharted territory"

"Knights on approach!" Storm shouted, pointing down one of the passageways that led downwards from the chamber.

"Form up!" Marina ordered. "Ciara, Ri'Azba, you're up front!"

The two archers readied their bows as four Knights of Order emerged from the corridor. Two were brought down immediately, as Marina took down a third with a well-placed fireball. The fourth, however, turned and ran back down the corridor, hitting a round black button with the palm of its hand. The group didn't know it, but from four cone-shaped crystals, one at each corner of the palace, beams of light shot up into the grey skies. Ri'Azba took down the knight with his bow.

"He might have triggered some sort of alarm" Agam-Na said.

"Alright, stay on guard" Marina said. No sooner had she finished saying it when at least 30 Knights of Order came swarming out of one of the downward-leading passages!

Ciara and Ri'Azba retreated, quickly firing then reloading but doing little to decimate the Order ranks. Storm, Arzel and Dramas all charged forwards with their swords readied, as Raminus summoned a towering Frost Atronach to aid them.

"Go! Upwards!" Marina shouted. "Fall back!"

Storm, Arzel and Dramas stopped fighting, having killed around six of the soldiers, and began to route towards one of the passages that led upwards. Soon, they realised they had made a terrible mistake. They were on one side of the room, whilst Agam-Na, Marina, Ri'Azba, Ciara and Raminus were on the other side, with the Order soldiers in between them.

"Come on!" Dramas said. "Let's try and lead them away!" They began to run up the passageway, as the group of Order knights split in two. Half followed them, whilst the other half followed the rest of the group.

The three of them raced up the corridor, Dramas backpedalling and firing wildly at the advancing Order soldiers with his bow. They emerged on a walkway that encircled the circular chamber. 90 degrees around its radius was another passageway that led further upwards. Storm signalled the group to head towards it.

Marina's group emerged on the opposite side of the walkway, and saw the Order soldiers pursuing Storm's group. They had to be careful not to get trapped between two groups again… Ciara emerged first, drawing her bow and firing. The arrow arced across the huge chamber and slammed into the side of a knight's head. Ri'Azba also began firing at Storm's pursuers whilst the rest of the group caught up.

"They're gaining on us!" Raminus shouted from the back.

"Go with the others" Ri'Azba said to Ciara. Ciara nodded and began to run around the walkway towards Storm, every so often stopping to fire an arrow at the Order soldiers.

Raminus and Agam-Na both drew weapons – Raminus summoning a sword and Agam-Na drawing his mace. As they prepared for the Knights to attack, an arrow sailed through the gap between them and hit one of the knights in the solar plexus, the force of the impact sending him falling back down the steep passageway. Raminus and Agam-Na charged forwards, Raminus skilfully blocking a swordstroke before plunging his own sword home. Agam-Na used his mace to block a heavy swing from another Knight – the Knight reeled with the impact as its sword was thrown from its hands.

"There's more coming!" Ri'Azba shouted from above them. "They've come through one of the other entrances!"

"Fall back!" Marina ordered.

"Ciara!" Ri'Azba shouted across the chamber. "Change of plan! We need you all down here!"

Storm's group had almost reached the passageway they were aiming for when Ciara signalled them to come to Marina's aid. Ciara positioned herself so she had a clear line of fire at the few knights left pursuing Storm's group, and began to pick them off one-by-one as Storm, Arzel and Dramas raced towards her.

-------------

High up above them, Iria ran higher and higher up a spiralling passageway. She could hear a battle below her, but she was too fatigued to intervene. She had been fighting off the forces of Order all the way up the corridor. The drawstring on her bow had snapped, the Sword of Jyggalag dented and bent from heavy fighting. Eventually, she reached what she guessed to be the top of the building – a pyramid-shaped room which seemed to be completely empty apart from the white beam of light shooting up through the middle of the room, out of the top of the pyramid. At that moment she realised the building wasn't a palace at all. In the battle to reclaim the Fringe from Jyggalag's forces in the Shivering Isles, a beacon had been activated in one of the buildings that made up the Fringe which spread the power of order around its surroundings. This pyramid was an enormous version of that. Jyggalag had used the building to turn the realm into a barren wasteland. Iria wondered what it had looked like before… Now all she could do was wait and hope.

_Apocrypha, Mora's Study_

Hermaeus looked up from the book he was reading. A ghost was drifting into the room.

"What have you found out?" Hermaeus asked.

"It has taken me countless years, but I found the text" the ghost replied. "You were right, My Lord"

"So… Lorkhan is not Daedric, and therefore Nirn was never a plane of Oblivion?"

"That is correct, My Lord. Although Nirn does exist on a separate plane to all realms of Oblivion, meaning the laws of travelling between them still apply"

"If Jyggalag is not trying to reclaim Nirn, why does he want to invade?"

"Would you like me to try and discover that as well, My Lord?"

"No, you may do as you wish now. Thank you for your help. Now, I must travel to Moonshadow once again"

_Order Pyramid, Realm of Order_

Marina found herself in exactly the situation she had been dreading – trapped between two groups of Order knights on the narrow walkway. However, Storm, Arzel and Dramas quickly fought off the knights pursuing them, leaving the route clear again.

"Ciara, Ri'Azba, go on point!" Marina said. "Lead upwards!"

Ri'Azba ran towards the passageway leading upwards, Ciara following her, as Storm, Arzel and Dramas made their way through the group to the rear flanks. Agam-Na fell back whilst Raminus fought alongside the other three, holding off the second Order patrol.

"Stand back!" Marina shouted. "I can buy us some time!"

The four warriors retreated, leaving Marina exposed to the Order ranks. A brilliant green flash burst from her hands, and what happened was remarkable. The Knights all seemed to freeze. As soon as the paralysis spell had taken effect, Marina cast a wall of fire towards the Knights. The paralysed patrol of Knights were sent tumbling back down the passageway to ground level.

"Run!" Marina shouted to the rest of the group. With Arzel and Dramas guarding her, she ran to catch up with Ciara and Ri'Azba. Storm sprinted ahead of them to take his place leading the group. Behind them, they could hear the Order knights coming around, regaining their footing and forming their rank again.

Storm led the group up the passageway, emerging high up on a walkway identical to the one lower down. Except this one had a difference. There were no other passageways leading from it. It was a dead end.

"Form up!" Marina ordered. "We're going to have to fight them off!"

_Moonshadow, Palace of Azura_

"So, why are Jyggalag and his allies still planning to invade Nirn?" Azura asked.

"It still represents a disorder" Hermaeus replied. "It is the only plane of existence that isn't Daedric"

"But what good will invading it do? He can destroy all life on Nirn yet it will still not be Daedric"

"This is what worries me" Hermaeus said, gazing out across the lush landscape of Moonshadow. "I fear Jyggalag does not simply wish to invade Nirn, he wishes to completely destroy it!"

"Can we stop him?"

"We can stop him only by aiding the mortals. They have removed the threats of Molag Bal, Namira and Mehrunes Dagon, and are on the cusp of preventing Jyggalag from being able to invade Nirn. But…"

"But what?"

"Unless the mortals can gather the essence of every single Daedra who plans to invade Nirn, there is still a threat. The Daedric Princes can use each other's realms as stepping stones to reach Nirn"

"I see" Azura said.

"Azura, something is troubling you" Hermaeus said, turning to Azura. "I can tell"

"It's Vaermina" Azura said. "Her grip over me is getting stronger. My sleep is constantly plagued by nightmares sent by her. I see Moonshadow razed to the ground, I see my armies being defeated by strange, shadowy figures"

"Interesting" Hermaeus said. "In her attempts to drive you to madness, Vaermina may unintentionally be giving us a glimpse of her plans. I believe Vaermina has some motive other than to help Jyggalag conquer Nirn. Only time will reveal her true aim"

_Order Pyramid, Realm of Order_

Storm, Arzel and Dramas bore the brunt of the attack. The three of them held their shields in front of them as the advancing Knights of Order attacked with tremendous force. The three of them lowered their shields and thrust their swords into the Knights, taking three down immediately, then began parrying the Knights' swordstrokes as they retreated back… straight through the line of fire of Ciara, Ri'Azba, Marina and Raminus.

A spectacular volley of arrows, fireballs and bolts of lightning slammed into the ranks of the Knights of Order, but still they fought on, forcing Storm, Arzel and Dramas back. Raminus saw their plight and summoned a sword, and raced to their aid. He joined in with the three expert swordsmen, blocking then returning swordstrokes from the Order soldiers.

"How many are there?" Arzel yelled. "They just keep coming!"

The Knights were forcing them back towards the edge of the walkway. Storm and Dramas realised this, lunging sideways to avoid being forced over the edge, then continuing the fight. There were now only five Knights left fighting them, and Ri'Azba brought down another with his bow. Arzel plunged his sword into another Knight, but as he did so, he caught something out of the corner of his eye that made his blood run cold. Raminus swung his sword downwards at one of the Knights, but the Knight blocked the blow with its own swordstroke. As Raminus recoiled from the shock, the Knight kicked Raminus as hard as it could in the gut and sent him flying backwards.

Off the edge of the walkway.

Raminus let out a bloodcurdling scream which didn't stop until he had fallen the 200 feet to the ground. His body hit the ground with a sickening thump, and he lay lifelessly on the floor of the enormous chamber.

Arzel let out a primal scream and with one enormous swordstroke, decapitated the two remaining Knights of Order. Then, he dropped his sword and fell to the ground. The whole building fell quiet.

"And so passes Raminus Polus of the Arcane University" Marina said, breaking the silence. "The third hero to lose their lives saving our world"

Agam-Na looked around the walkway. He could not help but feel that Raminus' death had been in vain. There seemed to be no way of getting higher up the pyramid. Then, he saw something. It was so faint, everyone else would have missed it. Something inscribed into the wall. Daedric scripture.

"Dramas" Agam-Na called across the room. "What does this say?"

The Dunmer walked over to where Agam-Na was standing.

"It reads 'The enemy of the enemy will let you pass'" Dramas said, translating the demonic symbols. "That's maddeningly unhelpful"

"It's a riddle" Agam-Na said. "Jyggalag's enemy is obviously Sheogorath, but who is the enemy of the enemy?"

The pair both stared at the cryptic inscription for a long time, both deep in thought.

"I can't help you, I'm afraid" Dramas said.

Agam-Na smiled to himself. "Dunmer" he said loudly. The section of the wall that the inscription was carved into revealed itself to be a door, and swung open.

"How did you work that out?" Dramas asked. "Are my people the enemy of Sheogorath?"

"It's a reference to ancient lore" Agam-Na replied. "When the Dunmer formed the Tribunal Temple, several of the Daedric Princes they worshipped as gods were banished and labelled as 'the four corners of the house of Madness'"

"Of course!" Dramas said. "It was Sheogorath who sent that cursed rock that almost destroyed Vivec!"

"Come on, let's go" Marina said, leading the group over to the door. "We must be close now"

"I hope you were right about the sword being here" Dramas said as he followed Marina. They walked up a narrow corridor which led steeply upwards in an ever-tightening spiral. Soon they emerged in a pyramid-shaped room which contained a lone figure. But it was not a servant of Order. It was a woman, with golden skin and hair, and clad in golden armour. Agam-Na recognised her as an Aureal, or Golden Saint, a servant of Sheogorath.

"Do you seek the Sword of Jyggalag?" the Golden Saint asked nervously.

"Yes, we do" Marina replied. "How do you know?"

"I am Staff Sergeant Iria of the Aureal, Soldier of Sheogorath. He sent me here to deliver the Sword of Jyggalag to you"

Iria unsheathed the silver sword and handed it to Marina. Marina examined the sword – it was dented and misshapen, showing the scars of battle.

"Sheogorath sent you here alone?" Marina asked.

"No, I was with Commander Alzen. But she was slain by the forces of Order"

"We too have lost a member of our party in this awful place" Marina said. "But tell me, how did you get to this chamber without crossing our path?"

"I found a secret entrance" Iria said. "I was about to enter this building through the main entrance, then I spotted a small opening. It led straight up here. But when I left the secret passage, a door closed behind me and another one opened. My guess is that there is a secret exit too"

"It's most likely booby-trapped" Agam-Na said.

"I personally prefer traps to more of those Knights" Ciara said.

"Iria, what will you do?" Marina said. "You may now return to your homelands a hero"

"Can I come with you?" Iria asked. "Back to Cyrodiil? I don't like the thought of travelling alone through this realm back to the portal to the Shivering Isles. And I can contact Sheogorath from Cyrodiil"

"It would be an honour to have you fight alongside us" Marina said. "I am Marina of Shimmerene. My kinsmen are Agam-Na, Dramas Telvanni, Arzel of Sentinel, Storm of Falkreath, Ri'Azba and Ciara Erlasia"

"It is nice to meet you all. Let us waste no time in leaving his place" Iria said.

Arzel turned to Agam-Na. "I hope you've got your head about you today, Professor" he said. "You seem to be good at spotting traps"


	11. Return to Cyrodiil

**Chapter 11 – Return to Cyrodiil**

_Telvanni Compound, Blacklight, Morrowind, a month earlier_

Orel Telvanni knocked on the door of the small house. It was near the edges of the compound, surrounded by gardens, almost separated from the rest of the Telvanni manor. A Dunmer male opened to door.

"Dramas, my son…" Orel said.

"Father!" Dramas said in shock. "Please, come in…"

"We have received word from Cyrodiil that one person from each nation of Tamriel is to travel to the Imperial City for a quest of huge importance" Orel said.

"And you wish me to go?" Dramas replied. "Father, you know that I am no longer an adventurer. I have fulfilled my destiny in Morrowind. I wish to live a quiet life. I haven't even picked up a weapon for a year!"

"Son, you are a hero of our people. A great warrior and a brave adventurer. I cannot think of a better representative of our nation than you"

"That is why you would send me? As a 'representative of our nation'?"

"You misunderstand me" Orel said. "This is a task of utmost urgency. Chancellor Ocato did not say much, other than that the fate of Nirn hangs in the balance"

"I've heard that before" Dramas sighed. "Very well, I shall do it. Not for Morrowind, not for the Dunmer, but for you"

"You have made me very happy, Dramas" Orel said warmly. "I have full faith in you. Now that you have accepted, you must travel to Tel Vos in Vvardenfell and speak with Master Aryon. I believe he has some extra instructions for you"

-----------

_Order Pyramid, Realm of Order_

Storm ran quickly down a steep spiral staircase which led endlessly downwards into the pyramid, its radius constantly widening to follow the shape of the building. So far, they had met no resistance, either from the forces of Order or any form of trap.

Behind him, Agam-Na followed, deep in his own thoughts. He was troubled about where to go next. Once they returned to Cyrodiil, they still needed the essence of Vaermina, Malacath and Peryite. They had no clues whatsoever about how to gather these. Vaermina and Peryite had no associated artifacts, and Malacath's only link with Nirn was Volendrung, which could have literally been anywhere. There seemed to be nowhere to go once they got back to Nirn. Furthermore was a question Agam-Na had been meditating upon ever since the quest had started – would his plan actually work? Would simply having the collection of artifacts in their possession prevent the Daedric Princes from invading Nirn? Or was there some sort of ritual that had to be performed? He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he almost missed the inscription written on the floor.

"Storm, wait!" he said. Storm stopped and turned round.

"What is it?" Storm asked. Agam-Na pointed to the floor. Set into the floor in blood-red crystal was something written in Daedric text.

"Dramas, I require your translating skills again" Agam-Na called back. Dramas walked over to the inscription and read it out loud.

"Only those wishing to escape the Realms of Order would choose this path. There shall be no escape for you as you meet your ends at the hands of Xidir, the High Priest of Order"

"That doesn't sound good" Arzel said.

"We must carry on" Marina said. "Unless anybody wishes to fight through another horde of Order soldiers"

"A High Priest of Order will be very dangerous" Agam-Na said. "He's most likely Jyggalag's second-in-command"

"It's your call" Storm said to Marina.

"We shall continue" Marina said. "Stay alert. Agam-Na, I'd feel more comfortable if you were further back"

Storm continued down the staircase. Agam-Na let Dramas, Ciara and Iria overtake him before falling into formation.

Eventually, they reached a large unusually-shaped chamber. It was perfectly cubic in shape, but four large platforms, one in each corner of the room, rose around 15 feet from the floor, turning the floor into two corridors which intersected in the centre of the room to form a cross.

"Watch for traps at the intersection" Agam-Na called to Storm. Storm raised a hand to let him know he'd understood, then stopped when he reached the centre of the room. He used Agam-Na's technique of examining the floor, looking for any form of trigger-stone, but did not see anything. He looked either way down the passageway that intersected their path, but both ways led to a dead end at the edges of the chamber. Cautiously, he stepped out onto the crossroads, waiting for some diabolical trap to kill him.

Nothing happened.

"Clear" Storm said. Iria, Ciara and Dramas followed him, Ciara and Dramas drawing their bows.

Agam-Na followed them across the intersection, but just as he reached the other side, he heard something. It was so quiet that nobody else seemed to have heard it, but it was there. An unusual sound. It didn't take long for him to realise what it was. From his studies in magic he knew that when a spell cast on somebody wears off it produces a very quiet sound. This one sounded almost like glass breaking. It was a spell from the school of Illusion. Breaking glass. Breaking the illusion.

There was somebody else in here. They had been hiding in the intersecting corridor. And an invisibility spell being dispelled meant one thing – whoever they were, they were about to attack. Then it hit him.

Xidir.

"Marina! Stop!" Agam-Na shouted. But it was too late. Marina had already begun to cross the intersection. She needed four steps to make it to safety.

She made two.

A colossal bolt of lightning erupted from the end of the intersecting corridors and slammed into Marina, knocking her to the ground.

"Marina!" Ri'Azba cried as he leapt out into the corridor to save Marina. The life was fading from her quickly, but she was still alive.

Ri'Azba had just reached Marina when he was hit by another bolt of lightning. He fell slumped on top of Marina.

Ciara leapt out into the corridor and unleashed her bow in the direction the lightning bolt had come from, quickly returning to cover. She heard the sound of an arrow hitting flesh, then a body slumping to the ground.

Everyone in the group raced towards Marina and Ri'Azba. But they could all tell it was too late.

Marina and Ri'Azba both lay lifeless on the cold crystal floor. Marina, the victim of an ambush. Ri'Azba, killed trying to save her.

Agam-Na sat down on the floor and buried his head in his hands. He had just seen his two best friends die. And it had happened so quickly… Ciara sat down next to him and put her arm around him, but said nothing. There was nothing to be said.

"We should go" Agam-Na said quietly, standing up. "Storm, take the Sword of Jyggalag and lead on"

"Are you sure you do not want to wait a little longer?" Storm said.

"No. I wish to leave this diabolical place as soon as possible"

Storm carefully removed the Sword of Jyggalag and its hilt from Marina's waist and fastened it to himself. He also took Ri'Azba's ornate Elven longbow and removed a ring from Marina's finger, a magical ring Marina had created herself to improve her grasp of the arcane arts. He handed the bow and ring to Agam-Na.

"You should keep these" he said. "Something to remember your friends by"

With that, Storm continued following the path, the rest of the group behind him. They walked instead of ran, and nobody said anything. They left the pyramid through a small doorway in its base and began crossing the barren plains until they reached the portal they had entered by. Now no longer connected to Mehrunes Dagon's plane of Oblivion, it took them straight back to Cyrodiil.

They emerged near the Panther River, the place they had entered the portal to Oblivion what seemed like an age ago. Now all that remained was the trek to the Elder Council Chambers.

-------------

_New Sheoth Palace, Shivering Isles_

Sheogorath slouched in his throne, taking a much-needed rest. Jyggalag and his soldiers of Order had once again been banished from his domain. His Aureal and Mazken guards walked around the throne room, on their way to get their wounds healed and weapons repaired. Then, one of the two doors into the throne room from the courtyard opened and an elderly man walked in, with long white hair and beard, dressed in grey robes.

"Can I help you?" Sheogorath called to the man.

"Sheogorath, I do not believe we have ever met in the flesh" the man said in a deep voice.

"Hermaeus Mora…" Sheogorath said, getting up out of his throne. "You look different to what I imagined. A lot more human"

"Yes. For some reason the mortals have chosen to depict me as a shapeless monster. I know many things, but not the reason behind that" Hermaeus said. "And in answer to your first question, yes, you can help me"

"What can I do for you, then?"

"Dyus" Hermaeus said bluntly.

"You can't have him! He's mine! Why do you want him anyway?"

"He is the embodiment of the Library of Jyggalag, is he not? He knows every single event that has ever happened in the history of our existence"

"You've done your homework, then"

"I need him, to help me find out where Volendrung is"

"Malacath's hammer? Has he lost it again?"

"He has. It is somewhere in Tamriel. I do not know where, but Dyus will"

"He's in Knifepoint Hollow. Take a couple of Aureal or Mazken along if you want. They'll know where it is"

-------------

_Elder Council Chambers, White Gold Tower, The Imperial City_

Five fatigued and distressed figures walked through the grand arched door into the enormous Elder Council chambers. Chancellor Ocato, who was sitting idly at the large table in the centre of the room, stood up and turned to them.

"Only five of you? One of whom was not an original member of the party?" Ocato said. "Where are the others"

"There are no others" Storm said sadly. "Baran was killed by the Mythic Dawn just after we found the Ring of Namira. Raminus, Marina and Ri'Azba were victims of the forces of Order in Jyggalag's realm"

"What of Agam-Na?"

"He wanted to be alone" Ciara said. "He is just outside, in Green Emperor Way"

"I imagine the deaths of Marina and Ri'Azba must be especially hard for him to take" Ocato said. "You all deserve a rest. Make yourselves comfortable, I shall send for food and drink"

"Thank you, Chancellor" Arzel said, sitting down at the table. Dramas sat down next to him. Ciara sat down on the floor, and Storm sat next to her.

"Are you OK?" he asked her.

"It's… it's all just a bit of a shock, losing Marina. We are without a leader now, and our number has been greatly reduced. I'm starting to wonder if there is any hope for us succeeding?"

"Well, I'm not giving up" Storm said.

"I'm going to go and look for Agam-Na" Ciara said, standing up. "I'm worried about him"

As Ciara walked towards the grand arched doorway, Iria ran up alongside her.

"Ciara, I need to get back to the Shivering Isles" she said. "I need to find a shrine to Sheogorath so I can speak to him"

"There's one near Leyawiin" Ciara said. She showed her amulet to one of the guards near the doorway. "Can you find some Legionnaires or foresters to take Iria to the Sheogorath shrine?"

"It will be done, my lady" the guard said. He turned to Iria. "Please, follow me"

"Goodbye, Ciara" Iria said. "I hope we meet again, and I wish you luck in your quest"

-----------

Agam-Na heard footsteps approaching him. He turned his head and saw it was Ciara, and stood up.

"I just thought I'd come and give you some company, if that's alright" she said.

"Thanks, that would be nice" Agam-Na said. "Ciara, I don't know if I can carry on with this"

"What do you mean?"

"We are at a dead end, Ciara. I cannot think of any way we can gather the essence of Vaermina, Peryite and Malacath. And now anything that poses a combat situation will be much more dangerous because we have been reduced in number so greatly. And we find ourselves leaderless…"

"Agam-Na, you should become our new leader"

"What? I am no leader"

"You have led us well so far. You are an expert navigator, an expert tactician and you always seem to be the one to get us out of difficult situations. The others will accept you as their leader"

"I know Storm and Arzel will, but Dramas…"

"What about him?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Agam-Na said angrily. "He has thought from day one that he should be in charge of this task. He disputes every decision that everyone makes. The stubborn Dunmer in him just wants to emerge from this as the hero. Dramas Telvanni will only accept one leader – Dramas Telvanni. And he seems to think my people and the Khajiit are little more than beasts of labour"

"If Dramas is threatening this quest in any way we shall simply evict him from the group" Ciara said. "Come on, Agam-Na, come and tell everyone that you are now leading us"

"I am still not sure, but I shall rejoin you" Agam-Na said. "And thank you for the company"

Ciara embraced Agam-Na and the pair held each other in their arms for a long time, before finally parting and returning to the Elder Council chambers.

-------------

Ciara and Agam-Na walked back into the Council Chambers. Arzel, Dramas, Storm and Chancellor Ocato were in there, sitting at the table talking.

"Everyone, Agam-Na would like to say something" Ciara said as the pair re-entered. Agam-Na nervously stepped forwards.

"I am undecided on whether or not I agree with this, for it is a large burden to bear" he said. "But Ciara believes I should be the one to lead us from now on"

"I agree with Ciara" Storm said.

"You would, wouldn't you?" Dramas said sourly.

"What do you mean by that?" Storm said, turning to Dramas.

"I know about your little relationship" Dramas said. "I think you are letting it cloud your senses, Nord"

Storm stared at Dramas in silence for a long time, then spoke quietly but angrily.

"We do not have a relationship. And I would like to know why my senses must be clouded to think Agam-Na should lead us"

"I would rather die than be led by a beast!"

Everybody stood in shocked silence at Dramas' remark. After a while, Agam-Na removed the Ring of Namira from his finger and cast it onto the table.

"Goodbye, everyone" he said. "Dramas Telvanni, may you die in the most painful way possible"

With that, he turned his back and ran from the chambers.

"Agam-Na! Wait!" Storm said. He got up to run after Agam-Na, but Ciara grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"I think Agam-Na's role in this quest has come to an end" she said. "As has Dramas Telvanni's"

She turned to look at Dramas.

"What power do you have to kick me out?"

Chancellor Ocato stood up and spoke for the first time.

"She has no power, but I do" he said. "Dramas Telvanni, you are hereby expelled from our number. Hand me your glass amulet, now"

"I will do no such thing! What grounds do you have to expel me?"

"I know why you were sent here, Telvanni" Chancellor Ocato said. "Jauffre delivered me a report from the Blades this morning. You are under orders to ensure you are the lone survivor if and when we achieve our aim"

"That is not true!" Dramas cried. "I have given everything I can to ensure the safety of the other members of the group!"

"I overheard you say something quite interesting in Oblivion, Dramas" Arzel said. "You asked Marina why she kept trusting Agam-Na's decisions and letting him be second-in-command. You have been trying to forge a rift between him and the rest of the group from the start!"

"I suggest you leave immediately" Chancellor Ocato said. Dramas stood in his place.

"You need me, and you know it. If I am expelled, you will be reduced to three. How can three warriors hope to save Nirn where ten were struggling?"

Storm walked up to Dramas and punched him hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Piss off, Telvanni" he said. "We have no more time for you"

Dramas stood up, removed his glass amulet and hurled it to the ground, smashing it to pieces. With that, he stormed out of the chamber towards Green Emperor Way.

Chancellor Ocato looked at Arzel, Storm and Ciara in front of him, tired and emotional.

"Only three remain" Ocato said. "Is all hope lost?"

"We have come this far" Storm said. "And we shall continue towards success"


	12. Peryite

**Chapter 12 – Peryite**

Jauffre walked into the Council Chambers, where the group was assembled. At first he wondered why so few remained, but the look on their faces said it all. They had suffered many losses on their journey through Oblivion.

"I have information regarding Peryite from one of our spies" he said, approaching the large table and sitting down on a free chair.

"I shall give you some background first" Jauffre continued. "Until recently, it was thought that there were no shrines to Peryite in Morrowind, but recently one was found in Vvardenfell, located in a cave near the village of Hla Oad. Nobody had set foot in the cave for a long time as it was inhabited by bandits. However, recently the Fighters' Guild cleared out the cave, a contract given to them by followers of Peryite. It transpired that the followers had built a shrine to Peryite in the cave but the bandits had forced them out of the cave when they decided to make it their home. Peryite was pleased that the Guild had helped his followers get their shrine back, and rewarded them with a golden statuette of himself. The Guild had no use for this statue, so they sold it to raise money for the Guild"

"Who did they sell it to?" Storm asked. "If it was a merchant it will be quite hard to track down"

"They sold it to the Museum of Artifacts in Mournhold" Jauffre said. "Which is a double-edged sword. We can get to the statuette but it will be heavily guarded"

Arzel pointed to his glass amulet. "I'm sure they can be persuaded to part with it"

"I'm afraid those amulets have no power outside of Cyrodiil" Chancellor Ocato said. "So we are going to have to break into the museum and steal the statue" Ciara said.

"No" Jauffre said. "It is heavily guarded around the clock. We are going to have to launch an attack on the museum and seize the statue"

_Overlook Road, Mania, Shivering Isles_

Hermaeus Mora walked brisky along the road that ran along the top of the ridge. He truly admired the realm that Jyggalag and Sheogorath had created between them, particularly the Mania district. Bright colours erupted from everywhere – the grass was a lurid, luminous grey, bright purple mushrooms sprouted all around him, and enormous orange mushroom trees vaulted up towards the skyline. Strange orange lights, which looked almost like will-o-the-wisps, floated around, darting between rocks and trees. Even the rocks were a dark purple as opposed to grey. Every time he or the two Mazken accompanying him were hungry they could simply pick an alocasia fruit from one of the many plants bearing them, the most divine taste Hermaeus had ever experienced.

"We must leave the road and head southwards now" one of the Mazken, Ariha, said. She was a scout and knew the back-country well. Also with her was Grakedrik Jarel, Grakedrik meaning 'Commander' in the Mazken language.

"Lead on" Jarel said to Ariha. "Knifepoint Hollow is close"

Shortly, the three of them reached a cave entrance. Ariha walked in, followed by Hermaeus and finally Jarel. They found themselves in a tall passageway that seemed to have been hollowed out of the roots of the enormous tree above the cave.

The passageway emerged in what appeared to be the ruins of an ancient fortress. A flesh atronach guarded the chamber the passageway emerged in, but Ariha quickly drew her bow and delivered an arrow to the atronach's head.

-------------

"A visitor" the elderly man said. "I have not had one of those for a while"

Hermaeus walked into the dark room, Ariha and Jarel standing guard behind him. They were deep inside Knifepoint Hollow.

"Dyus, I presume?" Hermaeus said. "I am Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of the past, the future and the fabric of space and time"

"What do you want?"

"You are the keeper of the Library of Jyggalag, are you not?"

"That is right" Dyus said. "When the Library was destroyed, Jyggalag passed all of its knowledge onto me. Then I was captured by Sheogorath and imprisoned here"

"You know everything there is to know" Hermaeus said, approaching Dyus. Dyus nodded.

"Look into my eyes" Hermaeus said. "You are an open book"

The pair locked eyes, Hermaeus staring deep into the very reaches of Dyus' mind. Nobody knew it, but as he did, Apocrypha, Hermaeus' repository of knowledge, began to grow. Thousands upon thousands of bookshelves, stacked with identical-looking books with no covers or titles, began filling the void around Apocrypha.

"Now I face the most difficult and time-consuming task of all" Hermaeus said. With that, he vanished into a portal and returned to Apocrypha.

_Mournhold Godsreach, Morrowind_

Storm was the first to emerge from his room of the Winged Guar that morning. They had arrived in Mournhold by caravan late the previous night, after a long 2-day journey, and had spent the night in the inn. They had dressed down to look like a band of casual adventurers – Storm had left Dagon's Sigil stone and the Sword of Jyggalag back in the Elder Council Chambers, under the guard of Jauffre and his Blades. He was wearing high-quality fur armour instead of the Mithril suit he normally wore, and Arzel had replaced parts of his Dwarven suit of armour with lower-quality iron armour. They were carrying only one unique item – a magical Daedric dagger taken from the Arcane University's Mystic Archives. They had to look as inconspicuous as possible. They were a band of adventurers, in Mournhold to sell this dagger to the Museum of Artifacts.

Ciara emerged next, shortly followed by Arzel. Storm motioned them to sit around a table in the corner of the inn. Storm had become the group's spiritual leader after the departure of Marina and Agam-Na – the other two trusted his intuition and combat prowess, and neither of them particularly wanted to have to bear the burden of leading the quest.

"OK, this is the plan" Storm said quietly to prevent any outsiders from hearing. "The caravan we took here was drawn by two horses. Those are our means of escape. The caravaner will abandon the vehicle when he sees us. Arzel, you take one of the horses. Ciara, you will be my passenger on the other one. Once we have seized the statue from the museum, we run as fast as we can to the city gates. The caravan will be waiting just outside them"

"Then what?" Arzel asked.

"Then we head west along the main road back to Cyrodiil" Storm said. "At a good pace we can be in Cheydinhal by nightfall. The guards will probably pursue us but we will cross that bridge when we come to it"

"I'm ready to go" Ciara said. "How about you, boys?"

"Let's do it!" Arzel said, standing up. The three of them walked out of the Winged Guar to embark upon possibly the most dangerous part of the quest so far.

-----------

As the three entered the Museum of Artifacts, an elderly Dunmer woman approached them.

"Greetings, I am Torasa Aram, curator of the Museum" she said. "I am guessing you are a band of adventurers?"

"That's correct" Storm said. "We have something you may want to see"

Storm drew the Daedric dagger from a small hilt on his belt. It glowed red from the fire enchantment that had been placed on it.

"We found it whilst exploring a Dwemer ruin" Arzel said. Torasa examined the blade.

"It looks like quite a common piece of Daedric craftsmanship with a standard fire enchantment" Torasa said. "Valuable, but not rare enough for our museum, I'm afraid. Perhaps one of the traders in the Great Bazaar will pay good money for it, though"

"Oh well, thanks anyway" Storm said disappointedly, taking the dagger back and placing it on his hilt.

"Feel free to look around while you are here, though" Torasa said. "The majority of our collection is upstairs"

Storm walked up the staircase, followed by Ciara and Arzel. All the time he was discreetly examining how the building was guarded. One guard stood at the bottom of the stairs, another by the doorway. Those two could not be evaded. Two guards stood at either end of the upper floor. They could be outrun.

The upper floor was a maze of pedestals, some of which had items upon them. A colossal warhammer – the Hammer of Stendarr. It was a weapon of such mass that no mortal could even lift it, let alone fight with it. On another pedestal was a katana forged from a gold metal with an ebony handle – Goldbrand, the legendary sword. Storm briefly wondered how it had got from the possession of Bendu Olo to Mournhold. Finally, on a pedestal at the far side of the room was a gold statuette about a foot in height of a dragon-like figure – Peryite.

It was time for action. Arzel and Storm stood near the two guards, looking at exhibits, whilst Ciara wandered towards the statue of Peryite.

"Go!" she shouted, picking up the statue of Peryite and throwing it into a small bag on her belt. The instant she did so, the whole building erupted into chaos. Storm, Arzel and the two guards on the top floor all drew their swords at the same time and began fighting. Ciara drew her bow and ran for the staircase leading to the ground floor. The guard who had been standing at the bottom of the stairs ran for her, but she was prepared. She drew her bow and nocked an arrow that had been tipped with a fast-acting poison. All the arrow had to do was strike flesh…

Aiming in an instant, she fired the arrow. It hit the guard in the arm just above his gauntlet, ripping through the netch-leather covering his upper arm. The guard writhed in agony before falling to the ground, dead.

Arzel and Storm, still expertly holding off the two guards, began to back towards the stairwell. The guards were too heavily armoured to be able to fight in straight battle – this would be a battle of defence and evasion.

"Storm, I'm taking the dagger!" Ciara said. Storm felt Ciara take the enchanted Daedric dagger from the small hilt on his belt as he delivered a well-placed blow which knocked the guard's sword from his hand.

"Surrender and I'll let you live" Storm said to the unarmed guard. But the guard swung his fist at Storm, the heavy gauntlet delivering a powerful punch and knocking Storm to the ground.

Arzel saw this happening, and he also saw the guard retrieving his weapon. He looked around. Ciara was running down the stairs, brandishing the magical dagger.

"Ciara! Give me some cover!" he called down the stairs. Ciara raced back up the stairs, where she saw Arzel trying to fight off both guards whilst Storm regained his footing. Ciara leapt forwards and sunk the blade into the chest of one of the guards, the powerful dagger slicing through his armour like a knife through butter.

"Go! Go!" Arzel shouted as Storm got on his feet and drew his weapon. He ran down the stairs and leapt forwards, clashing with the guard who had been guarding the door. The guard was knocked to the ground by the force of the momentum behind Storm. Storm held his sword to the guard's throat.

"Stay down!" he ordered. "Arzel, Ciara! Get out, now!"

Ciare leapt over the pair and out of the door back into Godsreach. Arzel finally delivered the killing blow to the guard he was fighting and followed her. Storm stood up, smashing the handle of his sword down on the other guard's forehead and knocking him unconscious. He saw Tovasa staring at him in despair.

"Believe me, we really need this statue" Storm said. "I promise I will return it"

With that, he ran out into Godsreach to join the other two.

By now, guards were swarming towards the Museum of Artifacts, led by Ordinator Alveras.

"Do not leave them alive" he bellowed. "They have earnt the death sentence for their crimes"

Storm raced through Godsreach, Ciara behind him and Arzel at the back. Fortunately, they had to leave Godsreach by the south gate and the guard barracks were next to the north gate – there was a possibility they could escape without a fight.

-------------

_Palace of Azura, Moonshadow_

Meridia and Azura walked through the beautiful private gardens of Azura's palace.

"Our involvement in the salvation of Nirn becomes deeper by the day, Meridia" Azura said. "The mortals are finding it difficult to continue in their quest"

"Why is that?" Meridia asked. "I know that they suffered losses in the Realm of Order and Dagon's plane…"

"Since then, Agam-Na and Dramas Telvanni have left the group. Agam-Na, driven out by Dramas' constant challenges to his authority. Dramas, expelled for planning sabotage against the group so he could emerge the true hero"

"Foolish Dunmer" Meridia said. "I believe he has always thought he was capable of completing this task single-handedly"

"Can you blame him?" Azura said. "Before this began, he was the only one who one may have considered a 'hero'. But it is a shame about Agam-Na"

"I have faith that he will emerge the hero from these times" Meridia said.

"Maybe. But we are digressing. Word has it they have just recovered the essence of Peryite from Morrowind. But there are two more Daedra involved in this plot – Vaermina and Malacath. They have no artifacts readily available and their realms are, for all intents and purposes, inaccessible to mortals"

"So we have to help them?"

"Yes. Hermaeus has acquired the Library of Jyggalag, a record of every single event that has ever happened. He is trying to find the whereabouts of Volendrung"

"What about Vaermina?"

"Well, I am taking that into my own hands, so to speak" Azura said.

"Azura, you don't have to talk around the issue" Meridia said. "I am aware that you have an ulterior motive for helping the mortals in their quest"

Azura sighed. "You're right. For many years Vaermina has haunted me. Every night is a terrifying journey through hideous nightmares sent by her. This is my chance to rid myself of my torment"

"You plan to defeat her yourself? Invade Quagmire?"

"Not exactly" Azura said. "Follow me"

The two Daedric Princesses walked through the garden, Azura leading Meridia towards a balcony that overlooked a large expanse of grassland to the south. What Meridia saw truly amazed her – thousands upon thousands of Winged Twilights, standing in organised ranks, filling up the enormous plain.

"Vaermina plans to invade Moonshadow" Azura said. "And I will be ready for her"

------------

_Mournhold, Plaza Brisindi Dorom, Morrowind_

As the three ran through the gate into the grand plaza, they were accosted by two guards, but Storm and Arzel cut them down where they stood. The end was now in sight…

Storm ran across the plaza, but soon realised the other two were lagging behind, and the guards were gaining on them. Arzel was not as athletic as Storm, and wearing heavier armour, and Ciara was weighed down by the solid gold statue.

"Arzel! Form up!" Storm shouted. "Ciara, give us cover!"

He turned and raced back towards the other two. Arzel spun round and drew his shield in front of him, waiting to face the guards, whilst Ciara drew her bow and fired at one of the guards. The arrow struck the guard square in the chest, puncturing through it but not reaching flesh. It still served as a warning – these three could easily hold their ground. The instant Storm caught up with Arzel and Ciara, the guards reached them. Arzel used his shield to block a downward swordstroke from one of the guards, whilst Storm leapt out of the path of another guard who was charging at him with a warhammer. The enormous weight of the guard's weapon carried him forwards, and Storm swung around and drove his sword into the exposed flesh at the top of the guard's spine, killing him instantly. As he did so, an arrow sailed passed him and collided with another guard square in the forehead.

"That should buy us some time! Let's go!" Storm shouted. Ciara began to backpedal, firing carefully-aimed arrows at the guards, until the other two caught up with her and they began to race towards the city gates.

Outside, the caravaner heard the commotion. This was his signal. He de-attached the horses from the caravan and ran.

He had got around ten paces from the caravan when an arrow struck him in the temple and killed him.

"Now, we wait" the Mythic Dawn assassin said coldly.

"We should send the signal" his partner said. "Now that we know the group are here"

The assassin cast a light high into the sky. It wasn't very bright, especially in the daylight, but the others would be watching for it. They would notice it.

"_Mythic Dawn!" _a voice shouted near the gates. _"Take them down!"_

"We've been spotted!"

--------------

Storm had sighted the two red-robed figures by the caravan, as well as the signal being cast. He cottoned on to their plan immediately. Now the three of them were here, more Mythic Dawn men would be on their way to the Imperial City to re-capture the Daedric artifacts. They had to move quickly.

The three charged towards the two Mythic Dawn agents. Before they had reached them, Ciara took one down with her bow, and Arzel easily killed the other.

"They're good thinkers but not very good at fighting" Arzel said as he climbed onto one of the horses. Storm and Ciara mounted the other one.

-------------

_Elder Council Chambers, Imperial Palace_

Legion Commander Adamus Phillida sat down next to Chancellor Ocato.

"The reason I have brought you here is simple" Ocato said. "We are once again at risk of invasion from the Daedra"

"I have heard of this" Adamus said. "Jauffre has informed me. He thought I should know"

"Jauffre let details of our predicament out?" Ocato said angrily. "Jauffre, of all people! I suppose he did the right thing, though"

"What are your orders, Chancellor?"

"We are currently most at risk of invasion by Vaermina, and possibly by Malacath. The Blades are currently attempting to discover the size of their armies, and what beings make them up. I need the entire Legion placed on red alert all the way across Tamriel. We need round-the-clock patrols everywhere, and I mean everywere. We need everything we've got"

"It shall be done, Chancellor. I only hope the Legion is strong enough. We have not yet fully recovered from the Dagon crisis…"

"I have one last trick up my sleeve" Ocato said. "Meridia and Sheogorath have both agreed to send soldiers to aid Tamriel should an invasion occur. The Aurorans, Mazken and Aureal will all be under your command"

-------------

_Outside Mournhold, Morrowind_

Two horses raced down the main road from Mournhold, which ran west into Cyrodiil. Storm and Ciara rode one horse, Arzel the other. Ciara had quickly made and consumed a strong life-detection potion from a handful of ingredients she was carrying, and constantly looked around for the Mythic Dawn agents they were pursuing. They had to be nearby otherwise they wouldn't have been able to see the signal that the agents in Mournhold had cast.

Ciara began to see a slight purple haze, confined to three small patches, on the road in front of them. Gradually, the patches began to get brighter.

"Three in front of us, moving quickly on our course" Ciara said to Storm as she drew her bow. Soon, the three Mythic Dawn agents on horseback came into view. Ciara fired her bow, taking down one of them. The other two halted and turned round to face Storm and Arzel, who began to charge at them.

"Take the reins!" Storm shouted, passing them back to Ciara as he drew his sword. "Just keep us in a straight line!"

Storm and Arzel raced past the two Mythic Dawn agents as the four horsemen clashed. Storm swung his sword at one, hewing his head clean from his body, but the other was prepared for Arzel, summoning a Daedric shield just in time to block Arzel's swordstroke. The impact knocked Arzel clean off his horse, and he fell clumsily to the ground. He looked up and saw the Mythic Dawn horse rearing above him, ready to trample him to death…

When an arrow slammed into the side of the horse's head in a star-shaped explosion of blood. The horse slumped to the ground, dead, as Arzel leapt to his feet and plunged his sword into the Mythic Dawn man who had been riding it.

"That was close" he said, sheathing his sword.

"Come on, we can still be back in Cyrodiil by nightfall"

------------

At the same moment, in a bed in Weynon Priory in Chorrol, a building that had been offered as a safe house, an Argonian lay awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling, the same three words reverberating around his head over and over again.

Redguard Valley Cave.


	13. Volendrung

**Chapter 13 – Volendrung**

Agam-Na sat staring at the bottle of wine in front of him. He had promised himself never to drink again. But now he had been driven back to the bottle. It was only around midday and he was already feeling hazy and disorientated. He was surrounded by empty wine and mead bottles. But part of his mind still focused, on three words.

Redguard Valley Cave.

What did it mean? Why had Azura come before him in a dream, years ago, and told him these words? Could it relate to the Daedra Princes' plot? And if it did, how had Azura foreseen it so long ago?

Agam-Na took a large sip of wine and relaxed in his seat. He was in the Oak and Crosier in Chorrol, an upmarket, friendly inn. He had spent the previous day in Chorrol having journeyed there from the Imperial City. He liked the town. Everybody seemed very friendly, especially Dar-Ma, a pretty Argonian woman he had met. But still he felt lost. Three Daedra remained to defeat – Malacath, Peryite and Vaermina. The three most difficult of all. Malacath was associated with Volendrung, but nobody could even begin to guess where it could be. Peryite and Vaermina didn't even _have_ artifacts associated with them, and their realms were inaccessible to mortals. Even though Agam-Na had left the group, he still felt part of them, like it was still partly his responsibility to save Nirn. He wondered how the rest of the group were coping – they had the combat ability to fight their way into places, but without a scholar like himself or Marina, they were directionless.

Marina.

He couldn't let his friends' deaths have been in vain. He got up and strode to the bar.

"I need to sober up" he said to the Khajiit barmaid, Talasma. "What have you got?"

"Hmm, a strong mug of tea is probably the best solution" Talasma said. "I'll have it brought over to your table"

------------

Agam-Na finished the tea. It had worked – he now felt more focused. Too focused. He briefly wondered whether Talasma had slipped some moon sugar into the tea, then buried himself in his own thoughts.

As he did, he overheard somebody talking. It was a Dunmer man who had also been in the inn all morning.

"The fetcher found it, then returned it to the Countess!"

Then, the Imperial woman he was talking to spoke.

"The Honorblade of Chorrol? Where was it found?"

"Redguard Valley Cave, like I thought"

Agam-Na's brain suddenly flew into overdrive. Volendrung was intristically linked to Hammerfell, home of the Redguards. Many texts even referred to it as Volenfell. It had to be…

Agam-Na strode up to the Dunmer.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhearing you mention Redguard Valley Cave" he said. "Is it nearby?"

"What's it to ya?" the Dunmer replied. He was smartly dressed but spoke like a serf.

"Believe me, it's important" Agam-Na said. He saw the Dunmer glancing down at his neck, where the top part of his glass amulet could be seen above his robe.

"Why didn't you show me that amulet?" the Dunmer said. "I'll gladly help you"

"You know of the amulets?"

"Of course" the Dunmer said, outstretching his hand. "Where are my manners? I am Fathis Aren of the Guild of Thieves"

"Agam-Na of the Guild of Mages" Agam-Na said. "So, Redguard Valley Cave…"

"Yes. I don't know of it's exact location" Fathis said. "But look around town for an Altmer called Honditar. You can't miss him, tall fellow with blonde hair, always carrying a bow. A bit eccentric but he knows his way around the backcountry. Why are you looking for the cave, out of interest?"

"I believe something I am looking for lies in there"

"Is it the Honorblade of Chorrol?" Fathis asked. "Because if it is, you're out of luck"

"No, it's not. If you'll excuse me, I don't feel comfortable telling you any more"

"Of course" Fathis said. "Best of luck to you"

As Agam-Na walked away, Fathis felt the temptation to follow him into the wilderness then rob him of the glass amulet. It looked very valuable. But the Gray Fox had told him that the fate of Nirn hung in the hands of the wearers of the amulets.

------------

Agam-Na felt in higher spirits as he walked with two others through the back-country south of Chorrol. With him were Honditar, the explorer, and a Fighters' Guild member, Surilia Willowheart, a young Nord ranger. Honditar and Surilia were a very entertaining pair, and their jokes and stories helped subdue the noise in Agam-Na's mind. Surilia mentioned Agam-Na's amulet, having heard about it from her Guildmaster. Honditar did not know of the significance of the small disc of glass, but quickly picked up on the fact that it meant Agam-Na was on a very important quest.

Redguard Valley Cave was quite far south, but Honditar believed they could make it by sunset at a steady pace. Agam-Na had explained how he overheard Fathis Aren talking about how somebody recovered the Honorblade of Chorrol from there, implying it had been cleared of any hostile inhabitants.

-------------

Eventually, they reached the cave. The sun had just set and it was quickly getting dark.

"What's your call, then?" Honditar said. "We can either make camp now and search the cave in the morning, or the other way round"

"I'd rather get it over with" Agam-Na said. "I don't want to hang around now that I know what I'm looking for"

"Hang on" Surilia said. "You're looking for something quite valuable, aren't you?"

"Yes" Agam-Na said. "Why?"

"If we camp out here, or even inside the cave, we're at risk from being attacked by bandits. And if you've got this artifact with you…"

"We could always return straight to Chorrol" Agam-Na said.

"We could" Honditar said. "We would easily make it before daybreak"

---------

_The Mystic Archives, Arcane University, Imperial City_

Captain Harnus saw something in the corner of his eye. Something out of place. An elderly Breton, dressed in a grey robe, walking purposefully towards the University. Harnus approached him.

"State your business" he said.

"I am a visiting scholar from High Rock" the old man said, handing a letter to Captain Harnus. He read it to himself.

_Please grant access to the Arcane University and Mystic Archives to the bearer of this letter. Yours, Raminus Polus_

"Very well, Sir. Sorry to have bothered you"

The Breton smiled to himself as he looked at Raminus' signature at the bottom of the letter. The portal Hermaeus had built between Apocrypha and the Soul Cairn had proved very useful.

The Breton walked purposefully through the Arcane University, into the mystic archives. There was only one person inside, a Dunmer dressed in a blue robe, signifying he was quite a high-ranking member in the University.

"Can I help you?" the Dunmer said.

"Yes. I am looking for Oghma Infinum"

"It's in that display case over there. But you must understand you may only read it, not take it, as it is University property"

Suddenly, the Breton summoned a Daedric sword and held it against the Dunmer's neck.

"Give me the book or I will kill you"

"Guards!" the Dunmer shouted. The Breton pushed him to the ground, quickly used the handle of the sword to smash open the display case, and took Oghma Infinum. Then, just as three Battlemages rushed into the building, he disappeared into a portal.

-------------

_Redguard Valley Cave_

Agam-Na and Honditar walked slowly through Redguard Valley Cave, the darkness illuminated by Honditar's torch. Honditar knew the layout of the cave.

"We should make our way to the back of the cave" he said. "If there's something hidden in here, it'll be there"

Honditar climbed down into a recess in the middle of the large cavern, Agam-Na following him, then proceeded down a small, narrow tunnel.

Eventually they reached the end of the cave, a small chamber which seemed to be empty.

"I don't understand…" Agam-Na said meekly. "I genuinely believed it would be here"

"Hang on, those rocks look loose" Honditar said, pointing at a pile of rocks in the corner. "Help me move them!"

Honditar and Agam-Na began to clear the rubble, and soon they saw something buried beneath it. A shaft forged from a dark grey metal. Honditar reached down and pulled on the shaft, the object it was attached to coming free.

Honditar held the object high up. It was a warhammer, immaculately forged from a metal they had never seen the likes of before. The head of the hammer had spikes and Daedric script written on it, which Honditar read.

"I wonder what it means?" he said. Agam-Na read the Daedric letters – he could translate, just not as quickly as Dramas had been able to.

"May the bearer of this weapon have the power to control the fate of his people"

"Wow" Honditar said. "Are you sure you want this? Can I have it?"

"No, I need it" Agam-Na said. "It is Volendrung, the Warhammer of Malacath"

"I never thought I would even see a Daedric artifact, let alone hold one" Honditar said in amazement.

"Come on" Agam-Na said. "We should get it back to Chorrol as soon as we can"

-------------

The three walked quickly through the backcountry back towards Chorrol. They could see a faint glow on the horizon, showing them where the town was. Honditar carried Volendrung on his back.

Suddenly, a blinding white light erupted in front of them. As quick as a flash, Surilia fired her bow at the source of the light, but the arrow seemed to bend away from the light, colliding harmlessly into a tree.

When the light subsided, three figures stood where it had been. Two women dressed in flowing gold and silver silk, and an elderly, bearded man in a grey robe. Agam-Na recognised one of the women.

"Azura…" he said reverently.

"Agam-Na" she replied. "I am glad to see that the dream helped you. And it is nice to finally meet you in the flesh"

Honditar and Surilia stood in stunned silence. What had started out as a simple bodyguarding task had turned into something very different.

"Please allow me to introduce Meridia and Hermaeus Mora" Azura said, pointing to her two companions.

"This is Honditar and Surilia Willowheart" Agam-Na said. "The Daedra never cease to amaze me. How did you find the whereabouts of Volendrung?"

"That was left down to me" Hermaeus said. "I have acquired the Library of Jyggalag. I am sure you are aware of it"

"A record of every event that has ever happened" Agam-Na said.

"Correct. For thousands of years me and my followers have scoured the Library, looking for a reference to the resting place of Volendrung"

"But if it took thousands of years, you must have known of the plans of the other Daedra all those years ago…"

"Not necessarily" Hermaeus said. "Agam-Na, you are a man after my own heart. A scholar, a man of great intellect. I'm sure you can deduce what I did"

"You are the Prince of the Past and the Future, of the passage of time…" Agam-Na said. "All I can think of is that you spent the next thousand years from now finding the whereabouts of Volendrung, then somehow reversed the passage of time and made Azura come before me in that dream…"

"That is exactly what I did!" Hermaeus said. "Your reputation precedes you. Now, the reason I have come here is to tell you this. I am now here to help you in whatever way I can. Previously I could not materialise in Nirn because my book, Oghma Infinum, was in the possession of the Guild of Mages. But that has since been undone"

"What must I do now?" Agam-Na asked.

"That depends on one thing" Meridia said. "Do you want to rejoin your friends?"

Agam-Na paused for a long time. "What has become of Dramas Telvanni?"

"He was expelled from the group" Meridia said. "Now, Storm leads Ciara and Arzel. They are returning from Morrowind with the essence of Peryite. If you begin travelling to the Imperial City now, you should arrive at more or less the same time as them"

"We are close to victory now" Agam-Na said. "Will you travel to the City with me?"

"Of course we will, Agam-Na" Azura said.

"Thank you for your help" Agam-Na said, turning to Honditar and Surilia. He realised he had nothing to pay them with, and had to give them his silver mace.

"Sell it and take half the proceeds each" he said. "I can find another weapon"

------------

_The Elder Council Chambers, Imperial City_

Storm, Ciara and Arzel sat around the Council Chambers table, taking a well-deserved rest. They had literally just returned from Morrowind with the statue of Peryite.

"So" Arzel said. "Now what?"

"I honestly don't know" Storm said. As he finished speaking, Chancellor Ocato walked in.

"Excellent, you have returned" he said. "And with the statue. I knew you wouldn't let us down"

"We're kind of at a loss of what to do now, Chancellor" Storm said. "How are we going to acquire the essence of Vaermina and Malacath?"

At that moment, so perfectly timed it was as if he had been hiding behind the doorway waiting for a mention of Malacath, Agam-Na walked into the Council Chambers.

"Agam-Na!" Ciara exclaimed, running up to him and embracing him. "I'm so glad you chose to return!"

"What's that on your back there, Professor?" Arzel said, pointing to a warhammer slung across Agam-Na's back. "Is it…"

"Volendrung" Agam-Na said, finishing Arzel's sentence. "I found it, with a bit of help from these three"

Three figures walked into the room. Storm, Ciara and Arzel recognised two of them as Azura and Meridia. The third, an elderly, bearded man in a grey robe, they did not.

"Allow me to introduce Hermaeus Mora" Agam-Na said.

"I have been helping your quest where I can" Hermaeus said. "Now that I have the means to materialise myself in Nirn, I can give you further aid"

"One Daedra remains in this plot who still poses a threat" Storm said. "Vaermina"

"There is nothing that can be done to stop Vaermina" Hermaeus said bleakly. "However, we have been given a glimpse of her plans through the nightmares she haunts Azura with. Vaermina plans to invade Azura's realm of Moonshadow. But…"

"But what?" Arzel asked.

"I fear she plans to invade Tamriel as well. Her forces are great, and recently she has forged a plane of Oblivion with the help of Mehrunes Dagon"

"Of course" Agam-Na said. "Due to the nature of Vaermima's realm there can be no means of travelling between it and Nirn. She is using this plane as a stepping stone, just like the Mythic Dawn did"

Chancellor Ocato was looking visibly distressed.

"You mean there is risk of another Daedric invasion?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit worse than that" Hermaeus said. "There isn't a risk, there is a certainty. All we can do is prepare for battle"

"Luckily, Jauffre informed me that this may occur" Ocato said. "Preparations for battle have begun"

"Speaking of which, Chancellor" Meridia said. "The Aurorans are assembling at my shrine"

"What should we do?" Storm asked.

"There is one other thing that needs to be done" Hermaeus said. "I believe Agam-Na knows what this is"

Everybody turned to look at the Argonian scholar.

"As ridiculous as it might sound, we must infuse Nirn with the spirit of the Daedra whose artifacts we have gathered" he said. "Only then is the risk of invasion completely removed. I don't know how this is done though, I'm guessing there is a ritual of some sort…"

"There is a ritual" Hermaeus said. "And this is where you four come in. There are two things we need"

"What are they?" Agam-Na asked.

"A Great Welkynd Stone, and the spirit of a lesser Daedra"

"The spirit of a lesser Daedra is no problem" Ciara said, holding up the Daedric dagger she had taken to Morrowind. "But a Great Welkynd Stone? I thought none of those existed anymore"

"There is one" Hermaeus said. "I know its resting place. But it's quite far away"

"How far away?" Storm asked.

"Skywatch. On Summerset Isle"


	14. The Battle of Skywatch

**Chapter 14 – The Battle of Skywatch**

When the four arrived in Anvil docks, they were instantly hit by the amount of activity and general chaos going on there. Many boats were moored in the docks, some large ferries and many smaller cutters, and Anvil guards, Imperial Legion soldiers and other people kitted out in an assortment of armour, who Agam-Na guessed to be from the local Fighters' Guild, were either boarding the ships or loading supplies onto them.

"State your business" an Anvil guard said, approaching them. They all produced their glass amulets.

"We need passage to Skywatch" Storm said.

"You're sort of in luck, then" the guard said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's fallen into the hands of a Mythic Dawn cell. They have evicted everyone from the city and are holding up in there. We're preparing to invade, but you're welcome to hitch a ride"

"They're onto us" Agam-Na said. "We have no choice but to go"

Shortly, the fleet sailed out of Anvil, southbound towards Summerset Isle. An army from Valenwood was also en route, and the Summerset Isle legion and what was left of the Skywatch militia were also helping the invasion. Most of the boats were approaching the harbour town from the east to launch a beachhead invasion, but some, including the one Agam-Na, Storm, Ciara and Arzel were on, were landing on the western shores of the island that Skywatch was situated on, about 2 miles from the town.

The group's encounter with the Mythic Dawn in Morrowind had meant that the security around the artifacts in the Elder Council chambers had been taken to a new level – they now had Meridia guarding them. Azura and Hermaeus Mora had returned to their own realms.

The group sat on the deck of the large craft. There was a prevailing northerly wind so they were moving quickly.

"You know, Marina once crossed this stretch of water in an hour flat" Agam-Na said. "The power of magic"

"Talking of the power of magic, what are you up to, Ciara?" Arzel asked, looking at Ciara, who was busying herself with alchemical equipment.

"This is a Summerset Isle-based Mythic Dawn cell we're up against, right?" she said. "They'll be Altmer, so we'll be up against magic. I saw that the soldiers and guards were being issued with antimagic potions, so I paid a visit to the Mages' Guild alchemist to make us something that will help us"

"Let me guess, strong antimagic?" Storm asked.

"Strong anti-everything" Ciara replied. "Antimagic, antivenom, anti-paralysis and a bit of damage reflection. They'll only last for about half an hour though"

Agam-Na ran through the plan over and over again in his mind. Great Welkynd Stones were normally found only in Cyrodiil as they were an Ayleid invention, but according to Hermaeus an Altmer adventurer had found one in Cyrodiil, then retired in Skywatch and had the stone buried with him. Like Bendu Olo, he was buried beneath the palace in the town. And that meant one thing the group were very good at – retrieving things from tombs.

--------------

A few hours later, the four of them and around fifty soldiers were running eastward through a dense forest west of Skywatch. They were about a mile from the town, and could already hear a battle going on. Screaming and shouting filled the air, as did explosions caused by fireballs. The Mythic Dawn were putting up a fight.

Soon they reached the edge of the forest. There was around half a mile of empty grassland, then the outskirts of the town. Skywatch was an old town and not fortified in the traditional way – the castle was in the centre of the town, surrounded by a tall, thick stone wall, and the houses and service buildings were scattered around the outside of the castle, not protected by any form of wall. The harbour, on the eastern side of the town, was much more heavily defended.

"Swordsmen, we're going to cross to the town" Captain Aminus, the Legion officer in charge of the large group, said. "Archers, prepare to give cover fire"

Agam-Na could see figures in red robes walking around the houses on the other side of the plain. The Mythic Dawn.

Storm and Arzel joined the group of swordsmen and axemen who were preparing to break out, whilst Agam-Na and Ciara joined the company of archers.

"Prepare to break out on my signal" Aminus whispered. Then, he raised his hands and the battle began.

The whole company charged forwards out of the trees towards Skywatch. It was nighttime and they had extinguished their torches, so it would be a while before the ambient light from the two moons and the city was strong enough for the Mythic Dawn to spot them.

When they were around two hundred yards from the edge of the town, Aminus motioned everyone to stop. Looking at the archers, he reached his arm backwards then hurled it forward – the standard military signal for 'Open fire'.

At once, a swarm of arrows flew through the air towards Skywatch. Most of the arrows either hit the sides of buildings or landed harmlessly on the ground, but three Mythic Dawn agents were hit, two of them killed.

The archers quickly reloaded and fired again, but by this time most of the Mythic Dawn soldiers had found cover and only one arrow found its mark in the chest of an unlucky soldier.

"Charge!" Aminus shouted. He began to sprint towards the town, the company of swordsmen, Storm and Arzel following him. The archers continued to reload and fire, whilst Agam-Na pointed out targets to them.

As the Legion soldiers got closer, the Mythic Dawn went into combat mode, summoning Daedric weaponry. Those particularly adept at conjuration also summoned suits of amour, much to the dread of the Legion soldiers. Storm and Arzel decided that this would be a good time to drink the potions Ciara had made them, and just in time – as soon as Storm had ingested the potion, a Mythic Dawn fireball slammed into his chest, but the potion sapped the magnitude from the spell, leaving nothing but an uncomfortable heat on Storm's chest that faded after a few seconds.

"Leave none alive!" Aminus ordered. "Clear a way to the palace!"

As the Legion raced down the streets, the Mythic Dawn formed an effective counter-attack and soon a large battle had developed. Storm and Arzel fought hard against the Mythic Dawn, fighting off blows from Daedric axes and swords before delivering the killing blow.

Arzel could see that the Legion were struggling. The Mythic Dawn's Daedric weaponry was much stronger than the Legion-issue equipment and several soldiers had had their weapons broken from trying to block blows.

"They're unarmoured!" Arzel shouted to them. "Concentrate on the killing blow!"

The effect could be seen immediately. The Legion soldiers stopped trying to block blows and instead concentrated on driving their swords into the unarmoured Mythic Dawn soldiers as soon as possible.

Storm saw the two armoured Mythic Dawn soldiers running to join the battle. This is where it would get difficult. They both pushed their way to the front ranks of the battle, cutting down two Legion soldiers where they stood.

Then, an arrow came sailing through the smallest of gaps between two Legion soldiers and hit one of the armoured Mythic Dawn soldiers. The dispelling poison on the arrow had an immediate effect, and no sooner had the soldier's armour disappeared when a fireball slammed into him and knocked him to the ground, dead. Storm smiled to himself. Ciara and Agam-Na.

Soon, the Legion outnumbered the Mythic Dawn enough to be able to begin the push towards the palace. Mythic Dawn reinforcements were slowly trickling in from the town centre, but the Legion presence was still stronger than them.

What they didn't know, however, was that there was a small group of Mythic Dawn soldiers sneaking through side-roads to get behind the archers.

Suddenly, all hell broke loose as ten Mythic Dawn soldiers raced out of an alleyway and attacked the company of archers. Some managed to unleash arrows before they were forced to drop their bows and draw daggers, but none of the Mythic Dawn soldiers were killed.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Aminus shouted as he saw what was going on. Several of the swordsmen turned around and raced to the aid of the archers, but they were too late. By the time they got there, every single one of the company of archers had been killed.

"Sir, the archers are gone" one of the soldiers said grimly to Aminus. "We weren't quick enough"

Aminus noticed that the Argonian was with them. He had drawn his mace and outrun the Mythic Dawn ambush, taking one down with a well-placed mace strike before joining the fight on the front lines. But where was the other member of his group, the Breton woman? Had she made it out?

Aminus saw Storm running past him, calling out Ciara's name. Storm searched the dead bodies in the street and surrounding alleyways. Legion archers. Town guards from Cyrodiil. Mythic Dawn soldiers. But no sign of Ciara. The Mythic Dawn must have captured her.

"Ciara's been captured!" Storm shouted to Arzel and Agam-Na. By now, the road to the palace was clear. Arzel and Agam-Na ran over to join him.

"Captured?" Arzel asked.

"I can't find her body and I know she wouldn't desert us"

"Go after her" Arzel said. "We can't lose her. And I know how much she means to you"

"Don't you need me to help you find the Welkynd Stone?"

"We'll manage. We'll get a couple of Legion soldiers to tag along"

Aminus, who had been talking to a messenger from the general, ran over to them.

"The Mythic Dawn are split in two" he said. "Those that were fighting in the harbour have retreated into the palace. The others are retreating to a camp about a mile south of here"

"That's where they'll have taken her" Storm said. "Good luck to you both. I'll see you back at the Elder Council Chambers"

"Godspeed, Storm" Agam-Na said. He handed Storm his bottle of Ciara's potion. "You're more likely to need it than I am"

With that, Storm began to run southward through the sidestreets, whilst everyone else continued towards the palace. The Mythic Dawn were holed up in there – the fight was not over yet. Now that they didn't have any archers left, the only option was a straight attack.

------------

By this point, the attackers from the east were making headway. The Mythic Dawn had made it hard to attack the harbour from the sea, thanks to a constant volley of fireballs. Everytime a fireball hit one of the small dinghies it would spectacularly burst into flames, the panicking Legion soldiers leaping out and swimming from the shore. However, when soldiers did reach the shore, either by swimming or from one of the larger, more robust troop ships, the Mythic Dawn lost the advantage as the Legion, with their superior close-range fighting abilities, forced them back.

-----------

On the western side of Skywatch, the Legion burst through the western Palace gates, and were met by a group of Mythic Dawn soldiers. The Legion fought with aggression, constantly pushing forwards instead of fighting defensively and blocking blows. Several Legion soldiers were killed, but the Mythic Dawn suffered much greater losses. Arzel and Agam-Na were both on the front lines – as Arzel plunged his sword into a Mythic Dawn soldier, he saw Agam-Na slam his mace down so hard on a soldier's head that it gruesomely snapped his head backwards at 90 degrees.

"I didn't know you had that in you, Professor!" Arzel shouted as he parried blows from a Mythic Dawn axeman.

"I'm training myself for when I next see Dramas" Agam-Na replied, blocking a swordstroke with his mace, then pushing the mace downwards and forcing the Mythic Dawn soldier's sword from his hands.

Soon, they had fought off all the Mythic Dawn in the immediate area. A doorway into the palace loomed 20 yards or so in front of them.

"Come on, Arzel" Agam-Na said. "We've got a Welkynd Stone to find"

------------

In the southern district of the town, Storm sprinted through the small residential streets. He saw a figure in front of him and went to draw his sword, but hesitated. The man was an Altmer, but not wearing Mythic Dawn robes.

"Hey there!" the Altmer called to him. "I never thought I'd see another friendly face!"

"You shouldn't be out here on your own" Storm said. "Where's the rest of your group?"

"All killed" the Altmer said. "We were ambushed on our way in from the south. I was the only one who made it out, so I thought I'd head to the palace and see if I could help. I'm Harril, by the way. Skywatch militia"

"Storm of Falkreath" Storm said, shaking Harril's hand. "Did you see a camp south of here?"

"Yes, that's where we were attacked" Harril replied. "I think it's where the Mythic Dawn are retreating to to regroup"

"That's where I'm heading, then" Storm said.

"Can I come with you?" Harril asked. "Bastards killed my friends. If I'm going to die, then I'm going to go down killing as many of the scum as I can!"

"I'd be glad of your help" Storm said. "What weapons have you got?"

"A mace and a good grasp on Destruction" Harril replied.

"Excellent. Lead me to the camp!"

-----------

_Vaermina's Shrine, Cyrodiil_

Jauffre surveyed the area around the shrine. Blades and Legion soldiers were at work, building defences. The shrine marked the highest concentration of Vaermina's power in Tamriel – when she invaded, it would be from here. The shrine was built on a slope, the shores of Lake Poppad to the south and a steep hill to the north. Several worshippers of Vaermina who lived at the shrine walked around – Jauffre had told them they could continue to live here, but if they did anything to interfere they would be killed.

Groups of swordsmen and archers had been positioned around the shrine, and the hill had been turned into an enormous firetrap – a fast-burning, oily chemical had been spread all over it, waiting for a fireball to ignite it. That meant the only way out for Vaermina's forces was through a choke point to the west, which was heavily fortified and guarded. They were ready.

------------

_Apocrypha_

"My Lord, I must speak to you!" one of Hermaeus' ghostly servants said, moving quickly towards him. Hermaeus stood up from the bookshelf he was examining. He was deep inside the Library of Jyggalag, searching for a record of one thing – the outcome of the battle against Vaermina.

"What is it?" Hermaeus said angrily. "I told you not to disturb me!"

"I have found this text concerning Meridia. It worries me. I think you should have a look" The ghost held a book in front of him.

"I don't have time. Sum it up for me"

"I don't even think Meridia herself knows this. It concerns Umaril the Unfeathered. Something happened to Meridia when she was still mortal. Her personality split in two. The good part became Meridia, the evil part became Umaril. Umaril was weaker than Meridia, cursed to live forever in the mortal realm, but he was still powerful enough to curse Meridia. She was meant to be elevated to become one of the Divines, much in the way Tiber Septim did, but Umaril cursed her to become Daedric instead"

"Why does this concern me right now?"

"Because without one another, they become mortal! Now that Umaril has been banished to Oblivion, Meridia is no stronger than any other Nirn-born being!"

"Are you sure about this?"

The ghost produced another book.

"This is from the Library of Jyggalag. A record of something that happened to Meridia. Recently she inflicted an axe-wound whilst training her Aurorans for war. It almost killed her! It took her days to recover!"

"The fool! Why didn't she tell me this? I have to go back to Nirn at once! Send word to Azura and Sheogorath. Tell them I need soldiers!"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Meridia is guarding the artifacts on her own!"


	15. The Great Welkynd Stone

**Chapter 15 – The Great Welkynd Stone**

Agam-Na and Arzel walked briskly down the gently sloping, circular corridor that led into the palace undercroft. Ahead of and behind them were two Fighters' Guild members, Erinar and Garmaras, both Altmer, who they had found in the palace courtyard.

"Something's on your mind, Agam-Na" Arzel said suddenly. "What is it?"

"I'm just thinking" Agam-Na replied.

"What about?"

"Hermaeus Mora" Agam-Na said. "I think he has had a lot more to do with our success than we think. He has the ability to manipulate the past and future, and now he has a record of every single event that has ever occurred. Remember that scroll we found in the Olo tomb, that told us where the Ring of Namira was?"

"I wasn't actually there, but I remember you and Storm talking about it"

"At first I thought Olo may have left it there, but now I think about it, it must have been Hermaeus…"

"The Professor cracks another riddle!" Arzel said. Agam-Na had grown to consider Arzel a good friend – he was kind, brave and 100 per cent loyal to their cause, and also to his leadership. And he liked the way Arzel always called him 'Professor'.

---------------

The corridor emerged in a long, wide room, about 100 yards long, with several smaller chambers branching from the sides. At the far end, behind a worn gate made from a pale golden metal, was a glass coffin from which a bright blue glow was emanating – the Great Welkynd Stone.

"Watch out" Agam-Na said as Arzel and Erinar stepped out into the chamber. "If there's anyone or anything guarding this tomb it will be in here" He followed them into the chamber, Garmaras behind him, all the time looking around them. The side chambers seemed to be empty apart from coffins.

They were perhaps halfway between where they had entered the chamber and the entrance to the room containing the Great Welkynd Stone when Agam-Na heard a faint sound – the sound of cloth brushing against stone.

"Someone's in here!" he whispered loudly. All four of them drew their weapons as Mythic Dawn agents leapt out of the shadows in almost every single one of the side chambers and charged towards them!

The four backed up to each other and stood in an outward-facing square as the Mythic Dawn hit them. Garmaras was an expert swordsman and, along with Arzel, easily fought off anyone who attacked them. Erinar held up his hands against one of the Mythic Dawn soldiers, causing him to spectacularly burst into flames and fall to the ground, screaming.

"Arzel! I'm going for the stone!" Agam-Na shouted. He ducked to avoid a Mythic Dawn agent's axe being swung horizontally at his head, then struck the agent as hard as he could in the thigh with his own mace. He heard bone breaking as the Mythic Dawn agent fell to the ground. Then he dropped his mace to shed weight and ran at blinding speed towards the chamber at the end of the room.

Suddenly, a Mythic Dawn agent wielding a Daedric sword appeared behind the gate and kicked it from its rusting hinges, then ran towards Agam-Na. Agam-Na raised his hands to try and cast a fireball at the agent, but managed no more than a small lick of flame that extinguished before it even reached the Mythic Dawn man.

_Concentrate!_

"Agam-Na! Duck!" he heard Erinar shout. Agam-Na dived to the ground just as a bolt of lightning flashed over his head and slammed into the Mythic Dawn agent, knocking his lifeless body back into the small chamber. Agam-Na raced into the chamber where the Welkynd Stone was brilliantly glowing from the glass coffin.

-----------

_Mythic Dawn camp, south of Skywatch_

Ciara opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was in a tent made from a rough brown fabric, sitting in a chair in the centre of the tent, which she had been tied to with thick ropes. Nobody else was in the tent.

Then she heard voices outside.

"_See what you can get out of the prisoner. I'll keep watch"_

"_How persuasive can I be?"_

"_Do whatever you need to to find out their plans. Don't kill her unless you have to"_

A Mythic Dawn agent walked into the tent, a towering Altmer with a dark, weathered face.

"So, you are one of this group of holy knights who think they can stop the Daedra?" the Altmer said. Ciara said nothing. The Altmer walked over to a small chest in the corner of the tent, and produced a pair of iron gauntlets. He placed them over his hands as he walked back towards Ciara.

"If you help me this won't hurt as much"

"What do you need my help for?" Ciara said grimly. "You already seem to have us beaten at every step"

"Where are the Daedric artifacts you have gathered?" the Mythic Dawn agent said.

"You know where they are" Ciara replied. The Altmer walked up to her and struck her as hard as he could in the side of the head. Ciara fell to the ground, still tied to the chair, blood pouring from a deep gash on the side of her head.

"I told you this wouldn't hurt if you helped us!" the Mythic Dawn agent shouted. "Where are the artifacts?"

"We intercepted members of your cult on the way to Cyrodiil to seize the artifacts" Ciara said, tears welling up in her eyes. "You know where they are!"

"You have ten minutes to decide whether or not to help us" the Altmer said. He kicked Ciara in the stomach then strode out of the tent.

"_What did you get?"_

"_Nothing yet. Still breaking her down. She knows that we know of the whereabouts of the artifacts but she still won't verify it"_

"_Find out where the others are"_

_------------- _

A mile north of the camp, Storm sprinted through the tall grass, following the light from torches he could see to the south. Harril ran behind him.

"Harril! How do these soldiers fight? Weapons or magic?"

"They're Altmer, so most likely magic. Ranged spells and summoned Daedra"

Ranged spells. Storm hoped to himself that they would attack him with fireballs or frostballs. Those could be dodged. Bolts of lightning could not.

Soon they were within a few hundred yards of the camp. Storm motioned Harril to stop and turned to him.

"Right, I'm going into the camp to rescue Ciara" he said. "I can handle melee fighting but if you see anyone try to attack me from a distance, take them down"

"Got it. So archers and the like, you want me to concentrate on?"

"That's right. Good luck, Harril"

"And you"

Storm and Harril began to charge forward towards the camp, Harril stopping 100 yards short of the edge of the campsite. Two Mythic Dawn guards spotted them immediately. One found himself on the receiving end of a bolt of lightning from Harril, whilst the other summoned a Daedric bow and fired an arrow at Storm. Storm anticipated this and leapt to the side just as the guard released the drawstring, dodging the arrow. He kept running towards the Mythic Dawn guard, dodging a further two arrows, until the guard dropped the bow and drew an axe. Storm raised his shield to block an axe-blow, then thrust his sword into the guard's chest. Without missing a beat, he continued onwards into the camp, Harril a short distance behind him. He raced through the guard quarters and barrack tents towards a central group of tents which were more heavily-guarded. He fought off Mythic Dawn soldiers attacking him with swords and axes, whilst Harril skilfully took down any mages or archers who threatened him from a distance.

------------

_Elder Council Chambers, Imperial City_

Aureal Iria burst into the Council Chambers. Promoted to Commander after her bravery in the Realm of Order, she was now in charge of seven other Aureal. They had just run all the way from the Sheogorath shrine.

Meridia and Chancellor Ocato, the only two other people in the chamber, stood up to face them.

"Thank the Madgod, we made it in time!" Iria said. "Is Hermaeus here?"

"No" Meridia said. "Should he be?"

"He said he would join us here as soon as he could" Iria said. "We are in great danger. The Mythic Dawn are planning on storming the Council Chambers to seize back the Daedric artifacts!"

"And you were ordered by Hermaeus or Sheogorath to come here?" Chancellor Ocato said.

"Hermaeus" Iria said. "He's just found something that would have jeopardised everything we have fought for if we had not got here in time!"

"Hermaeus believes I could not have defeated a few Mythic Dawn agents on my own?" Meridia said.

"I don't know" Iria lied. If only Meridia knew how right she was…

---------------

_Mythic Dawn camp, south of Skywatch_

Ciara's heart sank as the Mythic Dawn interrogator walked back into the tent.

"Feeling any more co-operative yet?" the Altmer said, roughly picking Ciara and the chair back up. Ciara said nothing.

"Where are the rest of your group?"

"I will not tell you!"

The Altmer stood silently for a few seconds.

"You know, Breton, I am under no obligation to keep you alive"

He raised his hands up and unleashed a bolt of lightning at Ciara. Ciara writhed and screamed in pain as the current surged through her body, but still did not speak.

"It will hurt more next time" the Mythic Dawn agent said. "Now. We saw the Redguard and the Argonian fighting in the town. But where is that ranger? The Nord?"

"They were all together when you decided to take me prisoner" Ciara said. "How am I supposed to know where they are now?"

The Altmer hit Ciara hard in the face. Blood began to pour from her mouth.

"Where is the Nord?" he bellowed.

"I'm behind you" a voice said from behind him. Before he could react, a sword burst through the front of his chest, driven in from behind. The Altmer's dead body slumped forward off the sword, revealing his killer. Standing behind him, exhausted but alive, was Storm of Falkreath.

"Storm!" Ciara said, elated, as Storm began to cut through the ropes binding Ciara to the chair.

"You didn't think I'd leave you behind, did you?"

"Of course not" Ciara said, shakily getting up from the chair and falling into Storm's arms.

"What have they done to you?" Storm said, looking at Ciara. Blood dripped from her mouth and the wound on the side of her head, and patches of her skin were smouldered from the lightning.

"They wanted information" Ciara said, gripping Storm tightly. "But why? They are ahead of us at every turn"

"He wanted to try and show you that the Mythic Dawn are more powerful than us" Storm said. "But they're not. I left none alive"

"Where are Agam-Na and Arzel?"

"They went after the Welkynd Stone. I said I'd meet them back at the Elder Council chambers when I'd found you. But first I'm taking you north to the port in Firsthold. You can catch a ship back to High Rock. You need to go home and let your wounds heal"

"No" Ciara said. "I have come this far, I will go on until the end. And… I want to stay with you"

Storm looked down at Ciara, then kissed her gently on the lips.

"I will be glad to fight alongside you again"

"Did you find where they took my equipment?" Ciara said, looking around the tent. Storm walked over to the chest in the corner of the room.

"Let's try the obvious place" Storm said, opening the chest. From inside it, he produced Ciara's bow, quiver and small bag of alchemy equipment.

"Come on, let's get out of here" Ciara said, taking her equipment off Storm. As they left the tent, an Altmer approached them. Storm rested his hand on the handle of his sword in its hilt, then realised it was Harril.

"Harril, you were a great help" Storm said. "Many thanks to you"

"Not a problem" Harril replied. "It felt good taking a few of those bastards down"

-----------

_Skywatch, harbour_

Agam-Na and Arzel boarded a ship bound back for Anvil. The battle in Skywatch had been won, and all the soldiers who had fought to reclaim it were now heading back to their respective homes, whether they be other parts of the Summerset Isle, Valenwood or Cyrodiil. Agam-Na cradled the Greater Welkynd Stone in his arms, its blue light illuminating the night around them.

Arzel admired the stone as the pair sat down on the deck of the ship.

"Any idea what Hermaeus needs all these things for?" he asked Agam-Na.

"I have an idea, but I don't know if it's right" Agam-Na said. "Welkynd stones act as amplifiers of natural energies. That's why spellcasters value the normal Welkynd stones so much – they amplify natural magical energy in the air and channel it into whoever is holding the stone. Now, I think what Hermaeus is planning to do is to use the spirit of a lesser Daedra and amplify it through the Great Welkynd Stone to make Nirn Daedric, but without a Daedric Prince associated with it, if that makes sense"

"Strangely, it does" Arzel said. "But didn't he say something about infusing Nirn with the spirit of the Daedra who plan to invade?"

"Yes, he did. But I don't know how he's going to do that"

Suddenly, they both felt a large pair of hands pat them firmly on the shoulders. They looked round to see Storm standing behind them.

"Storm!" Arzel said. "Good to see you, friend!"

"You too" Storm replied. "I see you had success. You can see that thing glowing from the shoreline"

"Did you find Ciara?" Agam-Na asked.

Storm nodded. "She's not in a good way though. I left her in the hands of a healer below deck. The Mythic Dawn used some very violent interrogation methods to try and prise information out of her. I think I got to her just before they killed her"

"Go and be with her" Agam-Na said. "We're fine up here"

"Do you have that bow, Agam-Na?" Arzel asked.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot!" Agam-Na turned around and picked up an ornate, immaculate ebony bow from the floor of the deck.

"We found it in the tomb and thought Ciara might want it" Arzel said. He flashed Storm a wicked grin. "You can say it's from you if you want!"


	16. Worlds Collide

**Chapter 16 – Worlds Collide**

_Vaermina Shrine, Cyrodiil_

The soldiers at the shrine knew that something was happening. The sky had developed a red tint and the level of light was falling rapidly. The statue of Vaermina suddenly looked evil, foreboding, almost alive under the dull red light.

"Brace yourselves!" Jauffre shouted. "Prepare for combat! Archers, form up!"

Then, it happened. The statue of Vaermina disappeared in a brilliant burst of light. From the light, figures began pouring out. They wore jet-black armour, hoods and masks that obscured their faces, and all carried swords and bows.

The archers lost no time in attacking. A tremendous volley of arrows soared down the small slope which the archers were stationed at the crest of, decimating the ranks of Vaermina's soldiers. But they kept pouring out, soldier after soldier. Jauffre cautiously looked around. He had a lot of soldiers under his command – the Imperial Legion, Fighters' Guild members, Aureal and Mazken sent by Sheogorath and Aurorans sent by Meridia. But there was no telling how large Vaermina's army was.

The archers continued unleashing a relentless barrage of arrows into Vaermina's army, who drew their own bows and returned fire. Jauffre had practiced the drill with the archers a hundred times – they crouched behind their shields until Vaermina's soldiers were reloading, then quickly fired back.

Then, a commander in charge of Vaermina's soldiers gave an order to them in the Daedric language. They drew their swords and began to charge up the hill.

"Set off the firetraps!" Jauffre yelled. Two Imperial Battlemages unleashed fireballs at the hill, as the archers retreated back. The naphtha they had spread on the hill burst into flames, the coating of oily liquid turning the whole hillside into a raging inferno. Many of Vaermina's soldiers were burnt to death by the flames as the rest began to retreat. Their commander looked around. North and east were on fire. South was a lake. They would have to charge to the west, through the heavily-defended choke point.

-----------

Agam-Na found himself in the Imperial City. But it wasn't as he had remembered it. The whole city was on fire. The sky was a blood-red, with bolts of lightning flashing through it. Black-armoured figures, their faces obscured by masks, ran through the streets, massacring what was left of the Imperial Legion.

Then, there was a bright flash of light. Several of the black figures were running towards it. Just before they disappeared into the portal, Agam-Na saw what was in their hands. The Mace of Molag Bal. The Ring of Namira. The Sword of Jyggalag. Volendrung. The small golden statue of Peryite. The sigil stone from Mehrunes Dagon's plane of Oblivion.

Enormous figures began to materialise everywhere. A colossal dragon-like figure – Peryite. A towering red demon, with four arms, a weapon in each one – Mehrunes Dagon. An enormous warrior, wearing glittering white armour – Jyggalag.

Daedra began to appear everywhere. Hordes of Dremora and Knights of Order poured out of portals which were appearing all around him…

"Wake up, Professor, we're here"

Agam-Na opened his eyes to see Arzel gently shaking him. He was outside the Imperial City gates, lying down in the back of a caravan. He must have been asleep since they left Anvil. The city looked normal, not overrun by Daedra, and the midday sky was a pale blue dotted with wisps of cloud.

"We have to form a defense in the Council Chambers immediately!" Agam-Na said suddenly.

"Why? What's wrong?" Storm asked.

"I had a dream. No, a nightmare. Maybe it was an omen, but I am positive Vaermina sent it. She plans to invade the Imperial City and capture the Daedric artifacts!"

"Are you sure?"

"I saw what would happen if they were taken back into Oblivion. Peryite, Dagon, Jyggalag, they all appeared in the city… them and their armies…"

"It's a good plan" Arzel said. "Vaermina overwhelms the defences here, seizes the artifacts, then the other Daedra invade…"

As the four raced towards the Elder Council chambers, the Imperial City began to fill with soldiers who would defend it to the death. Like the Vaermina shrine, Aureals, Mazken and Aurorans had been sent to help the soldiers of Cyrodiil.

When they reached the Chambers, the whole room was filled with soldiers, guarding the precious artifacts. Meridia stood on the table, surrounded by four Auroran guards, talking to Hermaeus Mora.

Hermaeus saw the group and turned towards them.

"Do you have the stone?" he said. Agam-Na produced the brightly-glowing Great Welkynd Stone and handed it to Hermaeus.

"Excellent. We can perform the ritual now. But I have some bad news"

"Try us" Storm said.

"Vaermina's invasion has begun. A messenger just arrived from the shrine. The defences there were overwhelmed. Vaermina's armies will be here within the hour"

"What are we up against?" Agam-Na asked. "I never even knew Vaermina had an army…"

"Soldiers dressed in black robes and masks who fight with swords and bows" Hermaeus said. "The army seems to be made up of elevated mortals. They could be her followers, but knowing Vaermina, I'd say it's much more likely that she has been harvesting the souls of the dead"

"What do you need us to do?" Arzel asked. "Shall we join the city defences?"

"No, I have a much more important task for you" Hermaeus said. "Vaermina's armies are arriving through a plane of Oblivion that Dagon forged. I need you to go and destroy the plane"

"By entering it and seizing the Sigil Stone?" Storm asked.

"Yes, that's right. It will be dangerous, but from what I've seen you're up to it. And I'll need someone to stay here with me and help me perform the ritual"

"I'll do it" Agam-Na said. "I've had enough trips to Oblivion recently"

------------

At the village of Weye, at the other side of the bridge which led to the Imperial City, Commander Iria and Sheogorath's army awaited the arrival of Vaermina's soldiers. Iria could see them moving quickly around the ring road – a swarm of black figures, a wave of darkness. The Aureal and Mazken soldiers all drew their bows. Soon they would be in range.

A few minutes later, Iria guessed the distance between them and Vaermina's army to be around 150 yards – the range of their bows.

"Godspeed to you all, soldiers of the Madgod!" Commander Iria shouted. "Open fire!"

The archers all fired at once, a swarm of arrows soaring across Lake Rumare and decimating the ranks of Vaermina's soldiers. Quickly, Iria saw how outnumbered her soldiers were, and the fact that Vaermina's soldiers were all also carrying bows, which they were drawing and loading.

"Shields!" Iria shouted. Her soldiers raised their shields above their heads, forming an impenetrable barrier which the enemy arrows all bounced harmlessly off. They quickly lowered their shields and unleashed a second volley, further damaging Vaermina's forces, but by now they had got too close for archers to be effective. Iria ordered them all to draw their swords or maces. Now the fight really began.

Sheogorath's army were quickly overwhelmed by Vaermina's and found themselves being forced slowly back across the bridge towards the Imperial City. Iria looked around and saw more black-robed soldiers approaching from the clockwise direction on the ring road. How many soldiers had Vaermina sent?

--------------

The Vaermina Shrine was a scene of absolute chaos. The defenders there, led by Jauffre, had formed some sort of counter-attack, and Storm, Ciara and Arzel arrived just in time to see a horde of Legion soldiers, Aureal and Mazken charging down a hill, through charred, oily grass, into a group of Vaermina's soldiers who had materialised from the portal which stood in place of the statue of Vaermina. Both groups, evenly matched, fought hard against one another and soon the battle bogged down into a stalemate. It was the distraction the three needed.

"Let's go!" Storm said, taking an invisibility potion that Ciara had just made. She gave one to Arzel and kept one for herself. All three drunk the potions at once, then sprinted past the battle into the glowing white portal.

Still invisible, the three emerged in Oblivion close to another battalion of Vaermina's soldiers. The three of them ran to the west, away from the soldiers, taking in their surroundings. The plane was made up of islands of rock and ash in a sea of lava, dotted with volcanoes and ruined buildings. This was unmistakably the craftsmanship of Mehrunes Dagon.

Eventually, and by luck, the invisibility potions wore off while the group were still in close proximity of each other. They regrouped as Storm surveyed their surroundings. About a mile away was a colossal tower, the only building visible that wasn't ruined.

Arzel followed Storm's gaze.

"I reckon so" he said.

"Let's go, then" Storm said. "I'll go on point"

"Wait a minute, Storm!" Ciara said. Storm turned to her.

"Agam-Na warned me about something that we might encounter, whilst you two were in the armoury getting new weapons. Dagon defends his realms with towers that attack anything that isn't Daedric with fireballs"

"Thanks for the warning, but we can dodge fireballs quite easily" Storm said.

"He said they are actually sentient beings" Ciara continued. "They anticipate you. All I'm saying is we should be careful"

"If they're sentinent beings does that make them killable?" Arzel asked.

"Maybe, but by the sounds of it we'll be running too fast to find out" Storm replied. "Come on, we've got a plane to destroy"

The three of them ran in single-file through the wastelands, Storm on point, followed by Ciara, then Arzel. There was a clear trail from where they were to the tower, winding through rocks and ruined remains of buildings.

"Soldiers!" Storm shouted, pointing in front of him. "They must be guarding the plane!"

A group of eight of Vaermina's soldiers were patrolling the wasteland about 200 yards away from them. Soon, one of them spotted the three. Ciara drew her bow and waited as Vaermina's soldiers charged towards them. As soon as they were in range, she took one down with her bow, reloaded and took down another, before drawing her dagger as Storm and Arzel ran forward to engage the six remaining soldiers.

Taking on three soldiers each proved to be more difficult than they had anticipated. These soldiers were elite and fought very well, causing Storm and Arzel to retreat backwards. Ciara drew her bow again and took one of the soldiers down, as Storm managed to get a blow in and drive his sword into the chest of another.

Arzel, fighting two soldiers, parried swordstrokes with one whilst using his shield to block blows from another. He reeled as his shield blocked a particularly heavy blow, but heard the sound of a sword clatter onto the rocky ground. Without missing a beat, he turned to his left and hewed the unarmed soldier's head clean from his body, before spinning 180 degrees and driving his sword into the second soldier. By this time, Storm and Ciara had killed the other soldiers. They could continue to the Sigil keep.

-------------

Back in Cyrodiil, Vaermina's soldiers were slowly fighting their way towards White Gold Tower. The guards on the outskirts of the Imperial City had been overwhelmed and forced back into Green Emperor Way, and the inner fortifications around the palace would only hold for so long. Archers on the battlements tried vainly to take down as many soldiers as they could before they were hit by arrows from Vaermina's soldiers.

Agam-Na had hatched an ingenious plan to fortify the defences. The weakest points of the wall around Green Emperor Way were the wooden gates, but Agam-Na had ordered mystics from the Arcane University to use telekinesis to lift blocks of masonry from the destroyed outer walls of the city, which were being stacked up against the gates. Every so often the gates would shudder as a battering ram slammed into them from the other side, but they held.

Far across Cyrodiil, 400 members of the Hammerfell legion raced westwards through Colovia, as Nord legionnaires from Skyrim moved south out of Skyrim, through the Jerall Mountains. Cyrodiil had called for aid, and Hammerfell and Skyrim had answered. The battle could now be won. Morrowind had promised to send soldiers but had had to withdraw. The prevalence of Daedra worship in Morrowind meant that Vaermina's influence was strong and the whole province was now covered in portals from which Vaermina's soldiers were spilling from.

In the Imperial City, the red sky suddenly turned to a pitch-black. Oppression hung in the air like a choking fog. Then, from a flash of light in the middle of the invading soldiers, a figure appeared. A pale-skinned, vampire-like woman, dressed in black robes and with jet-black hair, a Daedric sword in each hand. The defending soldiers knew who it was immediately. Vaermina.

At that moment, the defences finally gave way as the gate from the Talos Plaza into Green Emperor Way finally gave way, and Vaermina and her soldiers began to climb over the rubble. This obstacle bought the defenders time, as the archers could initially pick off the soldiers as they climbed over the wall of fallen masonry, but soon they were once again overwhelmed.

---------------

Agam-Na raced into the Elder Council Chambers, where the strongest defences still stood intact.

"Hermaeus!" he shouted. "Vaermina is here!"

Hermaeus strode through the ranks of soldiers towards him.

"She's broken through to Green Emperor Way!"

"Now we must divert our attention from defending the city, and perform the ritual. Meridia, come with us"

"No, I must help defend the chambers!" Meridia shouted from across the room. "If they are overrun, all will be lost!"

"You must come with us" Hermaeus called back. "I'll explain later!"

Hermaeus turned to Adamus Phillida, who he had placed in charge of the palace defences.

"Listen carefully" Hermaeus said. "You must hold the ground floor of the palace for as long as possible. We need to get to the top of White Gold Tower to perform the ritual, and it's a long way up"

"The defences will hold, My Lord" Adamus said.

"And another thing" Hermaeus said. "When Dagon's plane of Oblivion is closed, Vaermina's link with her realm, the source of her power, will be severed. When this happens, I'll let you know"

"Then what?"

"Kill her" Hermaeus said. "Banish her soul from this realm"

With that, Hermaeus, Agam-Na and Meridia ran out of the Chambers, up one of the staircases, to begin their long journey to the top of White Gold Tower.

--------------

Storm, Ciara and Arzel raced towards the Sigil Keep. They knew they had to keep moving as quickly as they could. The quicker the plane could be destroyed, the more chance the armies had against Vaermina.

The trail towards the Sigil Keep was a natural rock bridge over the lava. At times it was little more than a foot wide, before expanding to almost a mile across. Every so often, they would encounter one of the flame towers Agam-Na had spoken of. They would stop when they launched a fireball at the group, then quickly move out of its line of fire and carry on. They occasionally encountered other fire-traps, small metallic discs buried in the ground which would leap up in the air and explode when somebody passed close to them. However, Ciara discovered that a well-aimed arrow would also set them off, and soon she was running on point, ahead of Storm, setting off the fire-traps ahead of them.

Soon, they reached the base of the Sigil Keep. They stood in front of an enormous arched door covered in Daedric runes, the blood-red tower looming ominously above them.

"Ready?" Storm asked, turning to the other two. They both nodded. Storm gave a hand-signal, Arzel kicked the door open and the three of them ran into the tower.


	17. The Ritual

**Chapter 17 – The Ritual**

Three figures ran up a narrow, steep spiral staircase that led up White Gold Tower. Hermaeus Mora, followed by Agam-Na, followed by Meridia. Far below them, the battle in the Imperial City still raged on. Vaermina's armies were slowly pushing through to the palace – they didn't have much time.

"Hermaeus, what is this ritual actually going to do?" Agam-Na asked as they ran.

"It's going to turn Nirn into a realm of Oblivion containing the essence of the owners of these artifacts" Hermaeus replied. "Don't worry, Nirn will continue to exist exactly as it has done since its creation, but it will be safe from the threat of invasion by Daedra"

"But won't simply having the artifacts in our possession have the same effect?"

"Yes, but that is only a temporary measure" Hermaeus said. "What we are about to do is permanent. And there's something else you should know"

"I'm listening"

"Most of what you have been told about why we are doing all this is wrong"

"What do you mean?"

"Firstly, Lorkhan isn't Daedric. The reason he couldn't materialise in Nirn isn't because his heart existed in Morrowind, it's because he is dead. But the principle still applies – if a Daedra's spirit exists in Nirn, they cannot materialise there because they already exist there"

"Right…"

"Secondly, Nirn was never a realm of Oblivion in the first place. Chancellor Ocato was going on knowledge gained from Mankar Camoran by the Champion of Cyrodiil during the Oblivion Crisis. Camoran was very clever, but he was wrong in this particular case"

"But doesn't that nullify Jyggalag's reasons for this invasion?"

"Not really. There are two realms in existence that aren't Daedric. Nirn, and Aethereum, the home of the Nine Divines. To Jyggalag, these represent a disorder and he's trying to do something about it"

"You think that Jyggalag plans to take on the Nine Divines?"

"Perhaps. Only time will tell"

Agam-Na once again fell deep into his own thoughts. What they were doing was the ultimate solution. Firstly, the ritual would remove any threat posed by Malacath, Peryite, Dagon, Molag Bal and Namira. Secondly, if Nirn became Daedric, Jyggalag would no longer see this as a disorder and hopefully leave Nirn alone.

-------------

Soon, they reached the small doorway that led out onto the small rooftop of White Gold Tower.

"Don't look down, Agam-Na" Hermaeus said.

"I can handle heights" Agam-Na replied, peering over the edge. He was amazed by how high up they were. The whole of Green Emperor Way was filled with a cloud of black – the armies of Vaermina. To his relief, he could see the re-inforcements from Hammerfell and Skyrim running through Weye towards the Imperial City.

"Hermaeus, you don't need me here!" Meridia begged. "I must go and help the defenders!"

"Meridia, there's something I need to tell you" Hermaeus said. "It won't be easy, so I'll tell it as simply as I can. When Umaril was defeated, a part of you died with him. Meridia, you are no longer immortal"

Meridia stood in stunned silence.

"I want you to be safe, Meridia" Hermaeus said. "And up here, you are"

"Let's get on with this ritual, then" Meridia said. She unslung Volendrung and the Mace of Molag Bal from her bag and placed them on the floor. Agam-Na produced the Ring of Namira, Dagon's Sigil stone, the Daedric dagger and the Great Welkynd Stone, and Hermaeus took the small statue of Peryite from a pouch on his robe.

"Agam-Na, hold the stone up to the sun" Hermaeus said. "Point it directly towards the sun"

Agam-Na did so, and a blindingly bright beam of light shone from the end of the Welkynd stone, casting a circular patch of light a few feet across on the roof of White Gold Tower. Hermaeus assembled the Daedric artifacts so they were all fully inside the light.

"Meridia, hold the dagger just underneath the Welkynd stone, so it's in the light"

As Meridia took the dagger and walked towards Agam-Na, the Argonian wondered what was about to happen. As Meridia held the dagger in the path of the bright beam of sunlight, the brilliant white light seemed to turn black, a hole in space.

"Remove the dagger and the stone" Hermaeus ordered. Meridia and Agam-Na did so. When they did, the black light disappeared. The Daedric artifacts were gone. But other than that, nothing at all had changed.

"Is that it?" Agam-Na asked.

"That's it" Hermaeus said. "Come on, let's go and deal with Vaermina"

-----------

On the ground, Vaermina felt something happen. A change in the atmosphere. She had seen the bright beam of light shining from the roof of White Gold Tower. Immediately she knew what had happened.

"They're up there!" she bellowed. She raised both her arms as a black halo began to surround her, and blood-red light began to radiate from her. An enormous bolt of red energy leapt from her hands towards White Gold Tower.

Nobody could quite believe what happened next.

The energy simply sliced straight through the base of White Gold Tower. There was an enormous crash as the upper section of the tower fell downwards and crashed straight down into the Elder Council Chambers. It sounded like the world was ending. Then, it began to topple.

Soldiers of Tamriel, Sheogorath, Meridia and Vaermina alike began to run for their lives as the enormous tower began to fall. For a moment, the sun was blocked out as the colossal tower plunged the whole of the Imperial City into shadow.

With a deafening roar and a cloud of dust which leapt hundreds of feet into the air, White Gold Tower collided with the ground. It fell in a south-westerly direction, almost completely obliterating the Imperial Palace and devastating the wall between Green Emperor Way and the Temple District. The Temple District was almost completely destroyed by falling rubble, and a colossal rock smashed into the statue of Akatosh in the ruins of the Temple of the One. Soldiers and citizens alike cried in shock as the statue of Akatosh, a symbol of victory against the Daedra, was smashed to pieces by White Gold Tower.

The upper half of the tower landed in the grassland between the Temple District and the Waterfront, before tumbling into Lake Rumare, creating enormous tidal waves which surged across the waters, submerging the camps, caves and ruins that dotted the shores of Lake Rumare.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Nobody could believe it. White Gold Tower, and most of the Imperial City, had just been destroyed! Was this a nightmare sent by Vaermina, or had it really happened?

But two people, Chancellor Ocato and Commander Iria, knew that something much worse had happened. Agam-Na, Hermaeus and Meridia had been on top of the tower when it had collapsed.

----------

In Dagon's plane of Oblivion, halfway up the Sigil keep, Storm, Arzel and Ciara paused for breath. Arzel took a small armourer's hammer from his belt and began making some running repairs to his shield. Vaermina's soldiers had the keep well-defended and it had taken a lot of damage.

Ciara sat down on the red stone floor and took a small glass bottle from her belt, filled with a cloudy off-white liquid and began to drink it. It was a potion made from mugwort seeds and pulped cairn bolete mushrooms. It tasted absolutely disgusting but she needed it.

"How are the wounds doing?" Storm asked, sitting next to her.

"They're getting better" Ciara replied. "I'm starting to feel like I can properly fight again now"

"_Storm"_

Storm suddenly heard a voice in his head. He recognised the voice as belonging to Azura. By the looks on Arzel and Ciara's faces, she was inside their heads as well.

"_You must hurry. Every minute you remain here is every minute longer that Vaermina can wreak havoc on Nirn. Already the Imperial City lies in ruin"_

Storm leapt to his feet.

"Alright, listen. Our aim now is to get to the top of the tower as quickly as we can. If we encounter more soldiers, we don't stop to fight, we get past them as soon as we can. As soon as we collapse this plane they'll be killed anyway"

-----------

Agam-Na opened his eyes. He couldn't believe it. He was standing on solid ground. By the look of the architecture, and the deafening noise of battle, he was somewhere in the Imperial City.

"The Market District, to be exact" Hermaeus Mora said, standing next to him, as if reading his thoughts.

"What happened?" Agam-Na said. "The tower… The last thing I remember was falling to my death!"

"I grabbed onto you when we fell and opened a portal beneath us. I took us to safety via Apocrypha"

"And Meridia?"

"I couldn't get to her" Hermaeus said. "I'm afraid I fear the worst. I'm going to go and look for her"

"What about me?"

"Go to the Vaermina shrine. Wait for the rest of your group to return. Then wait for me there. I have a feeling this isn't the last battle we'll be fighting today"

-------------

Running along a precarious walkway high up in the Sigil Keep, Storm, Ciara and Arzel knew they had almost reached their destination. The domed ceiling of the tower's enormous central chamber was about 10 feet above them, the column of flame that shot up the centre of the tower disappearing into it. Directly above them was the Sigil Stone.

They reached the final doorway. Storm tried the door, but it was locked.

"It needs a key…" Storm said, pointing at a keyhole on the door. "Where in this Godforsaken place do you find they key?"

Ciara walked over to the door and drew her dagger. She placed the end of the blade into the keyhole then firmly kicked the handle of the dagger. The blade ripped through the fragile working parts of the lock and the door sprung open. Ciara removed her Dwarven dagger, still in perfect condition.

"Good thinking" Storm said. "Come on, we're almost there!"

The doorway led into a corridor that curved around and led upwards, which emerged in the Sigil Stone chamber. Storm motioned the other two to stop before they went in.

"Alright, you two, I'm going to go for the stone" he said. "If there's anything in there that's going to stop me, kill it"

"I'll cover you until you get up to the next level" Ciara said. "Then I'm coming in"

Storm examined the room. It was symmetrical and made from three levels. Two staircases led up to the second level, then a further two facing in the opposite direction led up to the third floor, where the Sigil Stone was accessable from. This meant the platform where the Stone could be taken from was directly above where they would enter the room.

Storm raced out into the room, Arzel following him and Ciara remaining in the doorway. Immediately, two Dremora saw them and ran towards the top of the first staircase to meet them. Ciara fired an arrow at one of the Dremora, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to drop his shield. Storm let Arzel overtake him, who drove his sword into the now-defenceless Dremora. Before the other Dremora arrived, Storm leapt from the staircase to the other staircase that led up from the other side of the chamber, meaning Arzel was now between him and the second Dremora.

"Ciara! I could use some help!" Arzel shouted back down to the ground floor. The second Dremora was a Kynmarcher, the highest-ranking Dremora soldier, wearing high-quality Daedric armour. Arzel used his sword and shield to block the Dremora's swordstrokes but could not get his own blow in.

Suddenly an arrow soared up from the ground floor and pierced through a tiny gap between the Dremora's bracer and cuirass. The Dremora seemed to simply freeze. Paralysis.

"Storm, you've got three seconds!" Ciara shouted. Storm had reached the Sigil platform, and just as the Dremora was getting to his feet he raced across the platform and wrenched the stone free from the magical field suspending it in the air.

-----------

_Vaermina Shrine, Cyrodiil_

The three appeared at the foot of the statue of Vaermina, which had now re-appeared, the portal gone. The area around the shrine was less chaotic than it had been when they entered the portal – no more of Vaermina's soldiers were around the shrine, just a company of Legion soldiers, Jauffre and, running towards them from the west, Agam-Na.

"Glad to see you all made it" he said as he reached the rest of the group.

"What's the news from the City, Professor?" Arzel asked.

"Where do I start? We performed the ritual. Nirn is safe from the owners of all the artifacts we had. Then Vaermina destroyed White Gold Tower and most of the southern parts of the City and Meridia might be dead"

"Right…" Storm said, pausing to take everything in. "So what do we do now?"

"I think we deserve a rest. Hermaeus said that he can banish Vaermina from Nirn as soon as the plane of Oblivion was closed. Then he said we should wait for him here, and that there might be another battle"

-----------

In the Imperial City, those who had managed to escape from the palace before White Gold Tower had collapsed, including General Phillida, had retreated to the Arboretum. In the Talos Plaza and Green Emperor Way, battle still raged on.

Hermaeus Mora strode up to General Phillida.

"The plane of Oblivion has been destroyed" Hermaeus said. "Vaermina cannot send any more soldiers, and she has been severely weakened"

"What are your orders, My Lord?" Phillida asked.

"Find Vaermina and kill her. She is still strong, but not immortal. Banish her soul from this realm"

"It shall be done" Phillida said. He ran over to Commander Iria.

"Commander, prepare your remaining soldiers for a break-out" he said. "It's time to end this. We need to kill Vaermina"

As he was speaking, Hermaeus Mora ran out of the southern gate onto City Isle to begin his search for Meridia.

Shortly afterwards, the doors of the Arboretum swung open and the remaining Imperial Legion soldiers, Aureal and Mazken, led by General Phillida and Commander Iria, burst out into Green Emperor Way. The battle was slowly swinging in their favour – Vaermina had sent a lot of soldiers, but the re-inforcements from Skyrim and Hammerfell had caused huge amounts of damage to their ranks. The soldiers had taken Green Emperor Way and the whole area was a sea of black robes and armour. Somewhere in there was Vaermina.

"I hope she's the kind to lead her armies from the front lines" Commander Iria said when she saw the size of Vaermina's remaining soldiers.

The break-out from the Arboretum collided with Vaermina's army with stunning force, killing many of them straight away. Soon, they had gained a foothold in Green Emperor Way and were fighting their way through Vaermina's armies in both directions.

------------

Commander Iria drove her sword into another of Vaermina's soldiers, then withdrew her blade and let the lifeless body fall to the ground. She looked back up…

…to see Vaermina herself looming in front of her, a katana in each hand!

"Prepare to die, Aureal!" Vaermina boomed.

"I will not go down without a fight!" Iria shouted back, raising her sword and shield.

"Fool! No mortal can kill me!"

_Let's put that to the test, _Commander Iria thought to herself. She lunged forwards with her sword, blocking a swordstroke from one of Vaermina's katanas with her shield. Just as she prepared to sink her blade into the evil Daedra, Vaermina swung down her other katana, almost knocking Iria's sword from her hands. She had to use both her shield and her sword to hold Vaermina back. How was she going to kill her? All around, Iria could see that the rest of Sheogorath's soldiers and the Legion were fighting their own battles against the overwhelming numbers. She was on her own. Vaermina swung both katanas down as hard as she could. Iria managed to block the blow but was knocked to the ground. This was it…

Suddenly, an arrow sailed through the air and pierced into Vaermina's left hand, knocking the katana from her grip.

"Go! Now! Kill her!" Iria heard a voice shouting. Spurred on by adrenaline, Iria leapt to her feet as another arrow hit Vaermina, this time in the shoulder. Vaermina briefly recoiled in pain, and Iria strode forwards and sunk her blade into Vaermina's heart. Iria felt intense pain shoot up her arm and through her whole body as she plunged the sword further through Vaermina, the life fading from the Daedra. As Vaermina's lifeless body slumped off the sword, Iria collapsed to the ground.


	18. Moonshadow

**Chapter 18 – Moonshadow**

_Imperial City Arboretum, thirty minutes later_

Commander Iria opened her eyes. She was lying on a makeshift bed, surrounded by other wounded soldiers from the battle. The first thing that hit her was how quiet it was…

"Commander! You're awake!"

She saw Agam-Na running towards her and dropping down by her side.

"You did it, Commander! You banished Vaermina from Nirn!"

Iria shakily sat up.

"What happened?"

"We decided we could not wait at the shrine while the fate of Nirn hung in the balance, so we came back. We saw you kill Vaermina, then you collapsed to the ground!"

"It must have been damage reflection" Iria said, slowly getting to her feet. "Is the battle over?"

"Yes, and that can be attested to you as well, Commander" Agam-Na said. "Once Vaermina was killed, her soldiers vanished back to her realm"

"Who was it, Agam-Na? Who fired the arrow that knocked Vaermina's weapon from her hand?"

"I only wish I knew" Agam-Na replied. "Whoever it was hasn't come forward and proclaimed themselves a hero yet"

As the pair talked, Hermaeus Mora approached them. Agam-Na could tell by the look on his face that he had bad news.

"It's Meridia" he said somberly. "I found her body buried under rubble from White Gold Tower. She was dead when I found her"

"Is that it?" Agam-Na said in shock. "The end of Meridia?"

"I am afraid so" Hermaeus said. "Her immortality died with Umaril"

"One of the most legendary and powerful beings in existence… just gone…"

"I know, I find it hard to believe too. She deserved better…"

"So what happens now? You said we had another battle to fight"

"Yes. Vaermina has been banished from Nirn, but her soul lives on. She will re-materialise in Quagmire, then march on to Moonshadow"

"Vaermina is going to invade Moonshadow?"

"Yes. I don't know why. She has motives unknown to me, but she wishes to kill Azura. I promised I'd send help"

Hermaeus turned to Commander Iria.

"Commander, as soon as you're fit to fight again, gather every battle-ready soldier you can find"

------------

_Moonshadow, south of Azura's Palace_

Azura knew that Vaermina was coming. A dark energy had been gathering in the southernmost reaches of Moonshadow. This was where Vaermina would enter Moonshadow. Azura's defences consisted of thousands of Winged Twilights, her Daedric servants. However, Azura's priority during the approaching battle was not to simply defend her realm, it was to destroy Vaermina once and for all. She carried with her a sword, enchanted with a powerful soul-trapping spell, and her legendary artifact, Azura's Star, an ornate gem capable of containing any soul, including that of another Daedric Lord.

Azura had known from the beginning of this vast chain of events that Vaermina would invade her realm if she was defeated in Nirn. Herself and Meridia had the strongest connection with the mortal realm of all the Daedric Lords, and since Meridia's realm was so detached from Nirn, Vaermina would be seeking to use Moonshadow as a permanent bridge into Nirn.

From a portal to the east, the group, along with Hermaeus and all the soldiers that Commander Iria had gathered, approached the battlefield. Azura ran over to greet them.

"You have arrived just in time" Azura said. "Vaermina's presence here is growing stronger by the second. Very soon she will arrive"

"What is your plan for the battle?" Hermaeus asked.

"I shall use my armies to distract hers, whilst I find her and rid this world of her" Azura said, brandishing the enchanted blade.

"Vaermina's soul in a soul gem…" Agam-Na said, twigging on to Azura's plan. "I'd love to see what kind of enchantments you could create with that"

"Wait" Arzel said. "Help the uninitiated here. Haven't we just killed Vaermina?"

"We killed her physical form but her soul simply returned to her realm" Agam-Na said. "This time, Azura is going to capture her soul so she can't do the same thing again"

-------------

Hermaeus and Agam-Na stood in one of the watchtowers of Azura's palace, a point where they had a clear view of the battlefield and the valley from which Vaermina would be arriving. They were both strategists, not warriors. They would use their position to see an overview of the whole battle, and Hermaeus would use psychic communication to advise Azura.

"Hermaeus, can I ask you something?" Agam-Na said suddenly.

"What is it?"

"Why are you and Azura helping us? When have the Daedra ever been interested in the affairs of mortals"

"That's a rather broad view of the Daedra you have there" Hermaeus replied. "As is the view that all Daedra are evil. Myself and Azura, and some of the other Daedra, like Sheogorath, Clavicus and Sanguine, despise the acts of evil performed by the other Daedric Lords. As you may have worked out, this has gone a lot deeper than simply saving Nirn. This is an all-out war between the Daedric Lords now"

"But you have other motives, don't you?"

Hermaeus paused for a long time. "We do, yes. Azura wants to rid herself of the torment caused by Vaermina, and siding with the mortals gave her an opportunity to do so. I wanted the Library of Jyggalag, and this gave me an opportunity to take it from Sheogorath with a just reason. And Meridia, well, I think she just wanted to prove herself to the rest of the Daedra…"

"OK, it's just something Storm said to me…"

"What is that?"

"Nirn is now a realm of Oblivion. There are no real barriers now between it and the rest of Oblivion. I mean, if you wanted to take over Nirn, you could do it right now… It's Mankar Camoran's vision. Dawn's Beauty turned Daedric"

"Camoran was a fool" Hermaeus said with a hint of anger to his voice. "He rambled on and on about the Mythic Age being reborn without knowing what he was talking about. Do not worry, Nirn is safe"

"You know, you've turned Nirn into the very thing almost every being upon it opposes, yet I still trust you"

"It is because we are very alike, Agam-Na. We are both on a life-long quest for knowledge"

"I just want to know that everything is going to be safe. I mean, does this mean that the Nine Divines no longer have any influence over Nirn?"

"Agam-Na, I am not sure you really understand what has happened. Think of the Daedric shrines all around Tamriel. Just because some of my followers built a shrine to me, it doesn't mean that I suddenly became in control of Nirn… Trust me, Agam-Na. Life is going to go on exactly the same as it has done since the dawn of time"

"But I thought that the statue of Akatosh, which is now destroyed, was what kept the Daedra at bay, and kept Nirn in the hands of the Divines?"

"When that statue appeared, Akatosh's spirit became bound to Nirn. He is more powerful than any Daedra, as is his influence. Trust me, you have nothing to fear"

-------------

In the distance, Azura could see a wall of black. It was what was left of Vaermina's army.

"Hermaeus, can you see how many they've got?" she said to herself.

"_It looks pretty evenly balanced. I'd say about a thousand, same as us" _she heard Hermaeus' voice inside her head.

Azura stepped forwards and turned round so she was facing her army.

"Soldiers of Moonshadow. Soldiers of Tamriel, The Shivering Isles and the Coloured Rooms. Today something will happen that had not happened once until earlier today. A Daedric Lord will be killed, their existence erased from our world. Vaermina has constantly tortured me with nightmares. Soldiers of Tamriel, she has almost destroyed the Imperial City, the centrepoint of your civilisation. Now she believes she can destroy the realm of Moonshadow. We are about to show her how wrong she is!"

An enormous cheer came from the army in front of her.

"Fight with all your body and heart! Do not stop until Vaermina and every one of her evil minions are banished from existence! Charge!"

With that, the thousand-strong army, Azura at the helm, began the mile-long charge towards where Vaermina's army were advancing towards them.

The two armies collided with enormous force. Vaermina's front line held up shields at the last minute, but Azura's Winged Twilights executed enormous leaps over the shields, landing five ranks back and taking the soldiers by surprise. Those on the front line didn't last a minute – sandwiched between two groups of Winged Twilights, they were quickly wiped out. The powerful Daedric Winged Twilights continued to fight their way through Vaermina's soldiers, slowly forcing them back, as constant volleys of arrows shot each way. The Twilights on the front line were safe from arrow fire, but those in the rear ranks were being decimated before they had a chance to fire back.

------------

"_Commander! You have to do something about those archers!"_

Iria heard Hermaeus speaking to her. She motioned the Aureal archers to stop firing, and the Mazken to continue.

"We're going around! We have to get rid of Vaermina's archers!" she shouted over the chaos of battle. General Phillida ordered some of his Imperial Legion archers to go with Iria, who began to run to the west.

"_There's a forest to the west" _Hermaeus said to her. _"Use it to ambush them. Do as much damage as you can"_

Iria led her soldiers into a dense forest made from tall trees with large, bright green leaves. The forest floor was littered with mushrooms which glowed various colours under the shadows. They ran south through the forest for about half a mile, before Iria motioned them to stop and head east, back to the battle.

"_Wait, Commander" _Hermaeus said. _"Head further west, up the hill. You'll come to the tree-line. Get above it. You'll be safer and still have a clear shot"_

"Change of plan!" Iria whispered loudly to the soldiers. "We need to get up that hill, above the treeline!"

----------

On the front lines, Azura and her Winged Twilights were unstoppable. The powerful Daedric creatures were much tougher, and much better warriors, than Vaermina's soldiers, most of whom were already weary from the battle in Cyrodiil. Azura herself could not be harmed by mortal weapons, and easily fought off anyone foolish enough to try and attack her with an immaculate glass sword.

Then, Azura saw something in the distance. A figure, taller than the rest of Vaermina's soldiers. A Xivilai. Then she realised there wasn't just one. There was a whole army of them.

"Xivilai!" she shouted.

"_Vaermina has just summoned them!" _Hermaeus said to her.

"Then Vaermina will be nearby" Azura replied. "I'm going after her"

-------------

"_Commander, destroy the Xivilai! Don't worry about the soldiers! Azura needs all the help she can get"_

Iria and her soldiers had just made it to the tree-line. After twenty or so more feet of ascent, they had a clear view of the battlefield. Iria could see the battle unfolding beneath her – the Winged Twilights fighting Vaermina's black-clad soldiers, Azura's Twilights interspersed with Iria's own kinsmen, Mazken, Aurorans and soldiers of Tamriel.

"Open fire!" Iria shouted to her soldiers. "Fire at will!"

As the first volley of arrows left Iria's soldiers and sailed down into the valley into the rear ranks of Vaermina's army, Iria saw a figure flying through the air, towards the ranks of Xivilai. The sun glinted off the figure's white robes and golden hair – it was Azura.

Azura soared effortlessly through the air above Moonshadow, the battle still raging beneath her. Vaermina's archers attempted to bring her down, but their arrows just bounced harmlessly from her, not even piercing her clothes. She took great delight in watching one arrow fall head-first back towards the ground and slam into the scalp of an unlucky soldier.

She scanned the ground beneath her, looking for Vaermina. She would be somewhere near the Xivilai…

---------------

On the battlefield, Storm and Arzel, who had been sticking together throughout the whole battle, found themselves on the front lines. Ciara had gone with Commander Iria.

"Looks like this is it" Arzel said.

"Arzel, remember that even if we die now we have saved Nirn" Storm replied. "We will die as heroes"

"I'd rather stay alive as a hero" Arzel said. They both raised their swords and charged forwards into the enemy ranks, cutting down two of Vaermina's soldiers straight away. They could both see the towering ranks of Xivilai pushing through the ranks of the soldiers towards them.

"How do you defend yourself against one of those things?" Arzel shouted to Storm.

"They're swordsmen!" Storm shouted back. "Fight them as you fight anything else with a sword!"

Arzel could see a Xivilai charging towards him. This would be the ultimate test of his fighting abilities. The Xivilai lunged at him, swinging its sword horizontally at his head. Arzel ducked just in time, feeling the blade skimming the top of his helmet. He tried to return the blow, but the Xivilai blocked the stroke with its sword. Arzel parried with the Xivilai, skilfully blocking its strokes with his sword and shield, until the Xivilai delivered an enormous downward blow. Arzel tried to block it with his sword, but his weapon snapped clean in half.

"Damnit!" Arzel shouted. As the Xivilai reeled briefly from the force of the impact, Arzel drove the still-sharp bottom half of his sword into the Xivilai's sternum. The Xivilai fell to the ground, the life fading rapidly from it. Arzel picked up the Xivilai's sword, a Daedric weapon, and stood to face his next opponent. He saw Storm, surrounded by two dead Xivilai but visibly fatigued.

"Please hurry up, Azura…"

------------

"_Someone dispel Vaermina!" _Hermaeus shouted. Iria turned to her soldiers, still unleashing volleys of arrows at Vaermina's army.

"Any mystics here?" Iria shouted. "If we can dispel Vaermina we can get rid of the Xivilai!"

"Where is she?" Ciara called to Iria, running towards her. She drew an arrow and dipped it in the bottle of dispelling potion on her belt.

"It's a very strong spell. I don't know if a potion will be enough" Iria said.

"It's a very strong potion" Ciara replied. She saw the unmistakable form of Vaermina behind the Xivilai – white-skinned, black-haired, dressed in black robes and unmistakably evil. This would be a very difficult shot.

_If only Ri'Azba were still here, _she thought to herself, aiming at an angle into the air. She would have to aim the arrow in an arc as opposed to in a straight line, because of the distance. Taking aim, she released the drawstring…

------------

Arzel stood to face the third Xivilai that had attacked him. He was exhausted. He could not go on much more. But he was going to go down fighting. After all the help Azura had given them, the least he could do was give his life defending her realm.

But then, the last thing Arzel expected happened. The Xivilai vanished into thin air, in a burst of orange-red light. He looked around. All the other Xivilai had vanished too.

"I saw an arrow fly towards Vaermina from up on the hill." Storm said, running over to Arzel. "Who do we know who carries a dispelling potion like that?"

"Ciara?" Arzel said in amazement. "I know she's good with a bow, but…"

"Come on!" Storm said. "We're almost there!"

"We can't kill Vaermina, if that's what you mean"

"No, but we can help Azura!"

--------------

Azura began to descend towards Vaermina. She had built up tremendous speed and began careering downwards towards the evil Daedra, her blade brandished in front of her.

Vaermina saw her coming at the last minute and let loose a tremendous bolt of lightning, knocking Azura out of the air and causing her to fall clumsily to the ground.

"I will destroy your kingdom before you can get near me!" Vaermina bellowed as Azura got to her feet. Vaermina drew her two swords, one in each hand, and ran towards her. Azura leapt back up into the air, returning Vaermina's attack with her own bolt of lightning. Vaermina convulsed violently as the electricity surged through her, as Azura rocketed down towards her, slashing downwards with her blade. But Vaermina blocked the swordstroke with her own weapon, again knocking Azura off-course. Azura fell to the ground and Vaermina loomed over her, trying to attack Azura with both her swords, but still Azura managed to block her.

Arzel saw the scene unfolding and ran to Azura's aid.

"Arzel!" Storm shouted. "You cannot kill her! Only Azura can!"

"I'm not going to kill her!" Arzel shouted back. As he approached Vaermina, her size dawned on him. She was at least twice the size of him. He dropped his sword and ran towards Vaermina, who was standing over Azura, her back turned to him. At the last instant he leapt up in the air and collided hard with Vaermina, shoulder-barging her to the ground. Not missing a beat, Azura leapt to her feet, drew her blade and held it across Vaermina's neck.

"Do your worst!" Vaermina said wickedly. "If you kill me, my soul will live on! You cannot rid the world of me!"

"Are you sure of that?" Azura said, looking her in the eye. Vaermina cast both her swords to the side.

"Try it" Vaermina said. "I'll be back with a new army!"

"What if your soul did not live on?" Azura said, a wry smile on her face.

"Of course my soul will live on! Nothing is capable of destroying it!"

"Maybe not" Azura said, producing her Star. "But one thing is capable of containing it"

At that instant, Vaermina realised she had made a terrible, terrible mistake. Azura forced the enchanted blade downwards, hewing Vaermina's head clean from her body. At the same moment, her Star began to glow more brightly than anything anybody had ever seen. All around her, Vaermina's soldiers disappeared in similarly bright bursts of light. When the light subsided, all was silent.

"I… I did it! I killed Vaermina!" Azura said to herself in amazement. Arzel got to his feet and ran towards her.

"Good work, My Lady" he said. "That's one less evil in the world"

"Arzel, do you know what Vaermina's downfall was?" Azura said, turning to Arzel. "She always underestimated the power of the people of Nirn. I would surely have been killed there if you had not helped me"

Azura drew her other weapon, the glass sword, and gave it to Arzel. Arzel had never seen anything like it – most glass weapons were forged from green volcanic glass, very occasionally blue. But this was clear. It almost looked like it had been hewn from diamond. Then he examined the blade. Throughout the whole battle, it had not inflicted any damage at all. No dents, no chips, nothing. It _was _made from diamond.

"I shall cherish this for the rest of my life" Arzel said, sheathing the blade.

-------------

Arzel and Azura made their way back towards the palace. On the way, they met up with Storm, Ciara and Commander Iria, and Agam-Na and Hermaeus ran down from the palace to meet them.

"Azura, you have done something that nobody would have thought possible" Hermaeus said. "You have killed another Daedric Lord. And Vaermina, at that!"

"I could not have done it alone, though" Azura replied. "You have all helped me in your own way. It just proves that, no matter what anybody says, the folk of Nirn can still be of help to the Daedra"

"We must get back" Agam-Na said. "I don't even think Chancellor Ocato knows we are here"

"Are you three coming?" Ciara asked, looking at Azura, Hermaeus and Iria. "I think you are about to see a party so big it will amaze even the Daedric Lords!"

Hermaeus laughed. "Don't speak too soon! I would be honoured to come with you"

"As would I" Azura said.

"And I need to get to that Sheogorath shrine to get home" Commander Iria said. "What harm would it do to get drunk on the way there?"


	19. A Hero Returns

**Chapter 19 – A Hero Returns**

_Imperial City, Arboretum_

Agam-Na stepped up to the podium on the small stage that had been hastily constructed in the Arboretum. The whole district was filled with noblemen, Legion generals and members of the public who had managed to get a space in the Arboretum. Everybody else had assembled in Green Emperor Way to try and listen in. Agam-Na didn't like the idea of having to address the nation, but Storm, Ciara and Arzel had persuaded him to do it.

"Citizens of Tamriel" he began. "We are gathered here in the aftemath of a great war, a war most of you did not know was happening until yesterday. The Daedric Lords Jyggalag, Vaermina, Malacath, Peryite, Namira, Molag Bal and Mehrunes Dagon had formed a diabolical plot to invade Nirn, not to occupy it, but to destroy it.

"You are still standing here, free, because of what one person has done. Chancellor Ocato assembled ten of the finest warriors and adventurers in Tamriel, with the singular goal of foiling this plot. He used the Blades and followers of the Daedric Princess Azura to help us in our quest. Under Ocato's order, we have journeyed all around this world and beyond, recovering artifacts linked to the Daedra who planned to destroy our world. We have fought countless battles, that have seemed unwinnable, but emerged victorious in the end.

"I am sure many of you will be wondering what happens now. Yes, the Daedra who tried to invade our world are now contained within our world in spirit. But fear not, for the spirit of the Nine Divines is still strong, and as long as we keep believing in their powers they will protect us from the evil Daedra.

"Of ten of us who set out, only four remain. Myself, Ciara Erlasia of High Rock, Arzel of Sentinel and Storm of Falkreath.

"Meridor of Valenwood was the first to lose his life. A great Bosmer warrior, he gave his life to allow other members of our party to escape Azura's realm of Moonshadow when we were attacked by mercenaries. Baran gro-Oran, a brave Orc warrior of Wrothgaria, lost his life on a quest to recover the Ring of Namira, defending the rest of us against overwhelming odds. Raminus Polus of the Arcane University here in the Imperial City, tragically fell to his death in Jyggalag's Realm of Order.

"Marina of Shimmerene, our brave, compassionate and fearless leader, an incredibly gifted mage who led us through countless times of adversity, and her loyal companion, Ri'Azba of Elsweyr, had their lives tragically ended by an ambush in the Realm of Order. Those knowledgeable in Khajiiti nomenclature will know that Ri'Azba's name symbolised royalty. He was indeed born into nobility but kidnapped into slavery at a very young age. Maybe one day he would have become a King of Elsweyr. However, he died so much more – a hero of his nation.

"Sadly, the sixth member to leave our group did so not because he was killed, but because he was exiled. Dramas Telvanni had been sent by the Great House of Telvanni in Morrowind, and we discovered he was under orders to ensure he was the only survivor of our group.

"This left three others, other than myself. Storm, Ciara and Arzel. Brave, skilled, compassionate and fiercely loyal. I cannot think of a better three people to be alongside in times like these.

"Others have helped us on our quest. Four Daedric Lords helped us invaluably, whether through aiding us in gaining artifacts, offering their combat prowess or simply with their vast repository of knowledge. Citizens of Tamriel, for almost all of history the Daedra have been viewed as evil. But how can Hermaeus Mora, Azura, Meridia and Sheogorath be evil when they have helped the people of Nirn, a people so much weaker than themselves, out of nothing more than the kindness of their hearts?"

An enormous cheer came up from the crowd when they noticed Hermaeus, Azura and Sheogorath standing upon the stage.

"Unfortunately, Meridia cannot be among us. During our quest, we discovered that Meridia lost her immortality when Umaril the Unfeathered, the evil Ayleid king representing the evil part of her personality, was killed. Meridia herself lost her life when Vaermina commited the unspeakable act, the destruction of White Gold Tower. Of all the Daedra I have encountered on my quest, Meridia seemed the most in touch with mortals. The most human, if you will. The fact that she has been erased from existence is possibly the greatest tragedy of this whole quest.

"Finally, three great leaders were responsible for our many victories in open battle. Jauffre of the Blades, General Adamus Phillida of the Imperial Legion, and Aureal Commander Iria of Sheogorath's Army of the Shivering Isles, who banished Vaermina from our nation.

"I have little more to say other than this. Nirn is no longer at threat from Daedra. Those evil enough to wish to invade no longer can. Vaermina has been completely destroyed. Let this be a warning to any other Daedra who wish to invade Nirn.

"Now, though, I believe we are under Chancellor Ocato's orders to hold the biggest celebration Tamriel has ever seen!"

To the sound of deafening applause and cheers, Agam-Na stepped down from the stage to be with his friends.

"In the immortal words of Martin Septim, wasn't much of a speech, was it?" he said.

"You did just fine, Professor" Arzel said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It can't have been easy, talking about all the deaths you have witnessed. Come on, let me buy you a beer"

"I don't drink, remember?" Agam-Na replied.

"You're sure you can't make an exception? You've just saved the world!"

"Oh, go on then!" Agam-Na said, laughing and following Arzel towards the nearest inn.

------------

As the two of them walked through Green Emperor Way, walking anti-clockwise to avoid the enormous pile of rubble, a figure ran towards them. As it came closer, they saw it was a Dunmer. Closer still, and they recognised him. Dramas Telvanni.

"You've got some nerve showing up here, Telvanni" Arzel spat. "Just piss off and let us enjoy the party!"

"Please, you have to listen to me" Dramas said. His voice didn't sound as arrogant and pompous as usual. He almost sounded normal. "I have realised what a terrible mistake I've made. Please, hear me out"

"Go on, then" Agam-Na said after a long pause.

"I realised what House Telvanni has become. They are so narrow-minded they would have Nirn put at risk just so the Dunmer could become the dominant race of Tamriel. I have journeyed back to Morrowind to tell my father that I am no longer a member of his house. I am no longer Dramas Telvanni"

"What are you then?"

"Just Dramas, I suppose. Anyway, I got back here just in time to help fight in the battle. I didn't realise you'd gone to Moonshadow as well, otherwise I would have gone there to help as well"

Arzel smiled to himself. "It was you who fired that arrow which disarmed Vaermina, wasn't it?"

"Yes, it was" Dramas said. "I saw Commander Iria in need of help. It was my first reaction"

"You should have told me that earlier" Agam-Na said. "I'm afraid I portrayed you as the cowardly deserter in my speech"

"You two, there's something you should know about me" Dramas said. "The reason I acted so high and mighty. Agam-Na, you know the prophecy that was recently fulfilled in Vvardenfell…"

Agam-Na looked into Dramas' eyes. "By the Nine, you're Nerevarine! The saviour of Morrowind!"

"That's right" Dramas said. "I assumed Chancellor Ocato had told you…"

"It seems we were wrong about you" Agam-Na said. "I'm not one to bear grudges. I accept your apology. What will you do now?"

"The same as all heroes do when the fulfil their destiny" Dramas said. "I am going to head out into the wilderness and see what I find"

With that, Dramas began walking towards the Talos Plaza, towards the bridge that led to the mainland.

"Come on, let's go and get that beer" Agam-Na said.

-------------

The next day, late in the afternoon, a meeting was held in the Council Chambers of the Arcane University, which had temporarily become a substitute for the Elder Council Chambers until the palace was rebuilt. Agam-Na, Arzel, Storm and Ciara were present, as well as Hermaeus and Azura, and Chancellor Ocato. Sheogorath had returned to the Shivering Isles, taking Commander Iria with him. Chancellor Ocato turned to address the group.

"When I gathered this group here in the Imperial City, I thought we were up against overwhelming odds. I saw no way we could defeat the evil Daedric Princes who threatened our nation. But it wasn't long before I realised that we had a hope. You have done Tamriel proud, and your quest is now at and end. And, of course, there is the small matter of rewards. Arzel, I know you have already received yours from Azura"

Arzel placed his hand on the diamond sword on his hilt. "I couldn't ask for anything better"

Azura picked up a small sack off the table in the centre of the room, woven from a golden fabric, and handed it to Ciara.

"This is a selection of ingredients from my garden, that you will find nowhere else" she explained. "I believe you to be capable of unlocking their full powerful potential"

Azura then handed a cuirass to Storm. It looked like it had been made from a golden mithril-like material, and when Storm took it the first thing that hit him was how light it was. It weighed less than a common shirt.

"This cuirass is impenetrable by mortal weapons" Azura said. "May it protect you well for the rest of your life"

Agam-Na waited for his turn to receive a gift from the Daedra. He secretly hoped to himself that it would not be a weapon, and instead a gift of knowledge from Hermaeus… He breathed a silent sigh of relief when Hermaeus reached into a pouch on his robe.

"Would you care to take a guess at what I am about to present you with, Agam-Na?" Hermaeus said.

"A gift from your library, perhaps?" Agam-Na said. "Maybe even Oghma Infinum"

"Close" Hermaeus said, handing a book to Agam-Na. "It's a copy of Oghma Infinum. I can't give you the original otherwise I wouldn't be able to visit Nirn anymore, and that would disappoint me greatly"

"I could not ask for a better gift" Agam-Na said, taking the book from Hermaeus. It was a legendary text, said to pass the knowledge of Hermaeus to its owner. Agam-Na had dreamt all his life of owning the book.

"What will you two do now?" Storm asked, turning to face the two Daedra.

"I suppose I will return to Moonshadow" Azura said. "And sleep without fear of being haunted by nightmares"

"I am going to build a proper realm" Hermaeus said. "I have seen what Azura and Sheogorath have built and it has inspired me. I mean, what is my realm? Nothing more than a library haunted by the ghosts of my followers"

"I'll come and visit you sometime" Agam-Na said.

"Agam-Na, there is one more matter I would like to speak to you about" Chancellor Ocato said, sensing that everybody was about to say their goodbyes and leave. Agam-Na looked at Ocato.

"The Arch-Mage has just informed me that a position has opened up here at the University" he said. "The University's senior lecturer has been promoted to Raminus' position as chief administrator, and they would like you to take the post of senior lecturer"

Agam-Na briefly hesitated, then remembered what he would be going home to. For the last few years of his life he had been travelling with Marina, going wherever she went. Before it had all started, he had been evicted from his own guildhall.

"I'll do it!" Agam-Na said. "When do I start?"

"Tomorrow, if you so wish" Ocato said. "I am sure you'll fit right in"

"Well, I suppose we'd better be beginning our journeys home" Storm said. "Where do the caravans leave from around here?"

"The main station's in Weye, the otherside of the bridge off City Isle" Ocato said. "You're sure you won't stay a while longer?"

"I know how absurd it sounds for a Nord to be leaving any form of celebration early, but I am in great need of a good rest" Storm replied.

With that, Arzel, Storm and Ciara said their goodbyes to Agam-Na, Chancellor Ocato, Hermaeus and Azura, making many promises to meet up again in the Imperial City in the future. They were particularly sad to be leaving Agam-Na – Argonians were renowned for their introverted, insular personalities, but the three of them had become good friends with him over the course of their quest.

"Perhaps if I get bored here I will journey around northern Tamriel visiting you all" he said.

"I wouldn't just make it northern Tamriel" Arzel said. "All this has got me back into adventuring. I think I might go and see some more of Tamriel"

"What about you two?" Agam-Na asked, looking at Storm and Ciara.

"I'm just going back to High Rock to continue with my research in alchemy" Ciara said. "And Storm's coming to stay with me for a while"

Storm laughed. "Am I? Alright, then!"


	20. Epilogue

**Chapter 20 – Epilogue**

_A Fighting Chance, Imperial City market district_

"It's quite a selection you have here" Agam-Na said, admiring the collection of Ayleid and Dwemer weaponry that took pride of place in Rasheda's display cases.

"I know a group of adventurers who explore old ruins" Rasheda said. "They sell all the Elven and Dwarven weapons they find and don't want to keep for themselves to me. There's pretty good money in it"

"I don't think I'm ready to go off adventuring yet" Agam-Na replied. "I'm just looking for a decent mace"

Rasheda unlocked one of the display cases and took a fine Elven mace from it, and handed it to Agam-Na.

"Lightweight, tough and durable. You're not going to find anything better than that around here"

"I'll take it, then"

"400 drakes and it's yours… You know, you should really make that amulet of yours a bit more prominent"

Rasheda pointed to a sliver of green glass sticking out from the top of Agam-Na's robe, the top of his amulet.

"You were one of those folk who just helped save Tamriel, weren't you?"

"That's right. I thought only guilds and city guards were supposed to know that, though!"

"Word got around pretty quickly after Vaermina showed up the other day. Take the mace. It's the least I can do"

Agam-Na took the mace. "Well, if you're sure…"

"My friend, had Nirn been destroyed, I'd be much more than 400 drakes worse off!"

Agam-Na walked through the city and into the Arcane University. He had been dying all afternoon to find somewhere to sit down and read Oghma Infinum. He had a quick glance inside it and saw that it was written in Daedric script. He would have to translate it, but he knew it would be worth it.

Reaching his small bedroom on the lower floor of the living quarters building, he placed his mace in his cupboard and lay down on his bed. From what he had heard of the text, it would predict what the reader wanted to learn about and literally rewrite itself accordingly. However, this was a copy of the book, so Hermaeus must have had to predict what Agam-Na wanted to learn about. He was knowledgeable enough in the arcane arts and had no interest in stealth.

Agam-Na smiled to himself as he opened the book and translated the title on the first page.

The Path Of Steel.

--------------

_Weye, Rumare coastline_

Storm helped Ciara to climb up into the caravan, then as he was about to climb in himself, he heard the sound of footsteps quickly approaching. He spun round to see a figure in a white robe and hood running towards him, brandishing a mace. Storm drew his sword.

The figure got closer, a look of murderous intent in his eyes.

"In the name of the Nine, I banish you!" the man shouted as he swung his sword at Storm. Storm easily blocked the blow and plunged his own sword into the attacker.

Ciara and Arzel looked at him, looking for an explanation.

"I was afraid this was going to happen"

_To be continued…_


End file.
